Padfoot the Weredog
by kyou fangirl
Summary: "What happens when an ANIMAL gets bitten by a werewolf?" Sirius, in the form of Padfoot, gets bitten by Moony, and to prevent the same transformation he must remain in the form of a dog under the watch of Remus until he is better. Remus/Sirius.
1. The Bite

**Disclaimer: I don't own this. Let that serve as the disclaimer for all chapters.**

**A/N So, I know I REALLY shouldn't be starting ANOTHER chapter fic, especially with Evil Within and A Rose in Her Hand and The Castle and probably another one or two that I'm forgeting not having been updated in so long, but I needed something new to write and this just came to me, so I NEEDED to write it. I sincerely hope you enjoy this first chapter and feel compelled to review. Thanks. I now present you with…**

**Padfoot the Weredog **

**(aka, The Most Poorly Titled Bit of Half Decent Writing I Have Ever Written For the Noble Harry Potter Fandom)… (seriously, advice for a BETTER title would be welcome)**

**Chapter One: The Bite**

"Hurry up, Moony! We're gonna be late! What are you even doing?" called James through the thick, oak door to their bathroom.

"Bwuthing mah teesh!" came the reply, muffled through both the aforementioned door and the toothbrush that no-doubt occupied the lycanthropes mouth.

"But _why?"_ asked Sirius incredulously. "You're just going to bloody them up tonight, aren't you?"

"I—" they heard a loud spitting noise into their sink "—always brush my teeth. I just do it early on the night of the moon so I don't miss a night," explained Remus John Lupin, emerging as he wiped his damp lips on a sleeve. "I, unlike _some_ people I know, who neglect to shower weekly, let alone daily, like to keep up daily routines as well as personal hygiene."

"Weirdo," said Peter—a rather hypocritical accusation coming from him—already out the door, holding it open for his fellow marauders.

As per usual, the four walked together toward the designated meeting place for Madame Pomfrey and Remus, three of the four shrouded in the invisibility cloak, giving Remus the discomforting feeling of being watched by unseen eyes, despite the fact that he was aware of their presence anyway.

"And… she's gone," said Sirius, finaly, as Madame Pomfrey shut the giant, double-doors leading into the castle. The long streak of candle-light that had illuminated a patch of the grounds vanished as he spoke, leaving them in the semi-darkness, lit only by the sun, which was quickly vanishing behind the silhouetted trees of the forbidden forest.

"Let's go," said James, whipping off the invisibility cloak and stowing it in the bag he brought along, carefully tucking it into a small hole he had dug, hidden by the roots of the Womping Willow.

The three remaining marauders then vanished into a large, overgrown hole in the ground, morphing into an unusual pack of creatures as they did. About a minute and a half into their cramped journey, they heard the distant, echoing, tell-tale sounds of a howling wolf, the monster that shredded the shrieking shack once a month. Ears of all sizes perking up, the trio picked up their pace to a gallop, a bound or a scurry respectively.

Upon their arrival, they were greeted by the sight of Remus, already transformed, standing on the middle of the stairway panting. His eyes were already fixed on the spot where it expected it's playmates to arrive from, and, as soon as they did, the wolf pounced on James, who was nearest him.

James, attentive and careful, as always, not to injure his friend with the prongs for which he took his nickname, responded by bucking the grizzly creature into the shredded ex-sofa that occupied the room's left-most corner. The four, reunited again, continued to 'play' in the room, but all the while, the three conscious ones slowly herded the wolf toward the door with their attacks. Moony, sensing the freedom that lay beyond and knowing that it was only with the help of these four that he could reach it, did not object, eagerly clawing at the door once he found himself cornered against it. Peter, with his well-trained, agile rat claws, scampered up the slightly splintered door and worked at getting it open while the other two continued with another of their usual tasks: preventing the wolf from actually swallowing Peter whole.

Soon enough, the door was open, and the marauders were off into the night with a sense of both mind-numbing fear and exhilarating adrenaline that they only felt once a month.

The cool, November air touched their skin through their new layers of fur as they bounded in the direction of the Forest, making sure to keep the attention of the wolf so as to lure it to their intended destination, rather than toward the castle.

Despite the direness of the situation, and the misfortune of Remus' condition, all four, including Remus himself, had to admit that the rush couldn't be matched. In the mornings after, all three would awaken aching and with only vague memories of the night before, and yet they would not regret it. Even Remus, waking up hospitalized and missing a _full_ night of his memory would agree. So they made the best of the night, trying not to pay attention to the fact that they couldn't let their best friend out of their sight and they had to keep him from running too far.

Strangely, or luckily, during all their excursions to the deepest realms of the forest, not once had any of them felt the venom of Remus' teeth upon their skin. It was partially that werewolves only aimed to _change _humans, not animals, partially because they were so weary and cautious around this particular part of the wolf's generous weaponry and partially because somewhere inside, Remus recognized his friends and, on the outside, the wolf itself had grown used to the three companions, and rarely showed significantly more than playful violence towards them. That is why, when a strangled yelp and pleading whimper sounded through the eerily empty clearing they had inhabited that night, all heads turned, apart from that of the offender. Remus, the wolf, looked up from the bloody mess, mercifully making no attempt to finish it's attack, and ran into the fog and trees.

James and Peter were humans again in an instant, but as Peter knelt beside the bleeding stray, he looked up urgently at James and said "no, you need to find Moony. He won't have gone far. I'll take care of Sirius."

Reluctant, but seeing the logic behind the hurried words, James nodded and ran off into the darkness, his shape shifting as he did so.

"Oh god…" muttered Peter, looking down at the dark, sopping, furry mass that lay pathetically with his head on his knees. "Bloody hell…" The color of the blood was lost in the dark, matted fur of Sirius, but where it oozed, Peter could see the moonlight shining off of it and the fur sticking together in wet clumps. "Oh god… Sirius… don't transform, okay?" he said, unable to read in the expression of the animal weather it could hear or weather it was even trying to listen. "Oh… shit…" Either way, figured Peter, the dog most likely lacked sufficient energy to transform, which had happened to each of them on several occasions, usually causing the other two or three to be responsible for dragging the wounded creature back to their bathroom where they would treat the injuries as best they could.

Peter, while stocky and rather plump, was a surprisingly strong boy, but Sirius in dog form was barely any lighter than he was in human form, and thus, a half hour later, Peter had still failed to lug the body all the way to the edge of the forest, opting to leave him be in a clearing a five minute scurry from the Willow with his assurance that he would return quickly. Then, vanishing into the tall grass and brambles in the blink of an eye, Wormtail was off and on his way to the hidden bag. In addition to the cloak, the bag contained water, a magical ointment and several bandages, as well as copious amounts of gauze and un-meltable ice packs. The instant he was back under cover of the trees, Peter became human again so he could better carry the supplies that were far too big for his rat form.

"Sirius!" he called, relief washing over him upon seeing the boy-dog precisely where he had left him. "Here," he muttered, as he busied himself on cleaning the cursed wound as best he could with the ointment and stopping the seemingly endless blood-flow with nearly all their remaining gauze. He tried in vain for several minutes to fix the bandages in various ways so as to protect and cover the generous gash, but eventually admitted defeat, finding himself unable to make anything stick on or wrap around the dogs wounded neck and shoulder to his satisfaction. This was mostly due to the absurdly long fur that clung unevenly to every inch of the mangy dog's body looking entirely less charming, and yet exactly the same as the boy's human hair cut.

At last, after hours of sitting still and nursing a hurt dog, the slight lightening of the sky indicated that the night was coming to a close, to Peter's relief and delight. He watched from a safe distance as the stag, looking as completely exhausted as a stag could appear to a human, single-handedly herded the wolf, which appeared to be in a similar state, into the tunnel and toward the shack. Minutes later, James reemerged, stretching his new-found human muscles as he wandered over to the waving Peter and sleeping Sirius.

"How is he?" he inquired, concern etched onto every inch of his sleep-deprived face as he knelt and stroked back the fur from his friend's eyes.

"Not great," admitted Peter. "But I had some time to think. I think we should leave him with Remus. When Madame Pomfrey comes to wake him up he can just say that… that he was a stray that he injured or something. Remus is quick, he'll figure it out. But there's no way to bring him in to the hospital wing ourselves. As long as she doesn't see him in his human form and Remus doesn't mess up, we should be fine, eh?" finished Peter, looking desperately at James, who was paler than usual as his hand brushed over a considerable patch of fur that was hardened with the remnants of that night's blood.

"Yeah… yeah, you're right. Thanks, Pete. You really… thought this out… when I wasn't doing anything," said James, looking still more like he was on the verge of collapsing.

"Well, yeah, I had all night to figure it out. And someone had to find Moony. You helped much more than me," pointed out Peter, lifting part of the dog's body into his arms as he did so. "Now come on. I need some help."

James nodded and lifted the rest of Padfoot's limp frame into his own arms. The pair carried their friend carefully into the Shrieking Shack and placed him in a curled position on the foot of Remus' bed. Having finished with all they could help with, they proceeded to exit once again via the hidden passage and wait by the door of the castle, invisible, for a sleepy Madame Pomfrey to let herself out and unwittingly let them back in (so as not to raise suspicion as to how 'the wind' blew such a heavy door open).

"Well," said a yawning Madame Pomfrey as she dabbed a smelly potion onto Remus' bare shoulder, seeing his eyes part blearily. "Looks like you picked up a friend, last night," she said, indicating the form who's breathing was causing a steady shift of weight on Remus' feet. "Or not. Something you must've tried to eat, though I can't imagine how it escaped and followed you here. Or why, for that matter." Remus' heart skipped a beat when he saw what precisely it was that lay at the foot of his bed.

"Is he—it dead?" he asked suddenly, failing to realize that the breathing he had already noticed should've answered this question before hand.

"No. Though again, I don't know how."

"Did I… did I bite it?" he asked, fearing the answer.  
"It would seem so. I suppose we should let it out to die in the forest. It's getting fleas on the last set of non-shredded bed sheets," observed Madame Pomfrey distastefully.

"No!" said Remus, too quickly, causing the nurse to both raise an eyebrow and retract her hand in surprise. "Just… look at it…" pleaded Remus helplessly. "It's… just a stray… you can heal it right? Right?"

"Well, it's not my area of expertise, but if it really matters to you, I could try to help the poor creature," said Madame Pomfrey, somewhat taken aback by Remus' insistence.

"Would you? Oh, that'd be great… thank you so…" Remus trailed off slightly, his eyes widening as an obvious question, one that had never occurred to him before, popped into his head. "Madame Pomfrey," he started hesitantly, "what happens to _animals_ who get bitten by… by werewolves?"

Again, the healer raised an eyebrow but gave a straight forward answer which she knew, no doubt, from special research she had done when she had been assigned to help Remus five years prior to that very September. "Well, since Werewolves are specific to Humans, it is not uncommon that the animal will be unable to take the foreign venom and simply die within the hour, though with unusual strength or medical assistance, the animal can be cured. Once the wound has healed, it takes several weeks—two or three—for the poison itself to leave the creature's system, but with proper care and rest, that is a relatively straight-forward, if painful process," she explained, all the while waving her wand over certain antler-shaped bruises (about which she restrained from inquiring) that marred the already significantly scarred chest of the young lycanthrope.

"Then this dog could get better, right?" asked Remus, no longer able to even attempt to hide his desperation. Though Madame Pomfrey found this behavior odd to say the least, she had always found Remus to be a well-mannered boy and had become quite fond of him. He had never asked her of anything other than what she was already under orders to do, and if he had an odd yet simple request now, she was not going to decline or pry into his reasoning.

"I'll see what I can do," Remus grinned sleepily and fell back onto the pillows when she said it. "_After_ I tend to _you_," she added, not putting it past the boy to put this dog's life before his own, especially as it seemed he had already overexerted himself that morning. He nodded graciously and remained quiet as she healed his wounds as best she could, hoping that she didn't notice his eyes never once leaving those of the supposed stray who lay sleeping on his feet. If they could keep Sirius in his dog form for just three more weeks, and perhaps a few days more for good measure, they could forget this ever happened. Sirius wouldn't be affected because he wouldn't be human. Remus would make sure of it.

**A/N Reviews are ALWAYS greatly appreciated, regardless of content. I would love something positive or constructive though. Long and thoughtful are also good traits for reviews. Thanks a bunch for reading and I hope you keep doing so. XOXOX**


	2. Of Plans and Pets

**A/N New chapter! Huzzah! Just… cuteness and such. **

**Chapter Two: Of Plans and Pets**

Remus inwardly thanked every greater force he could think of for the previous moon having been on a Friday. It meant that neither he nor Sirius needed to attend school for two days and gave them more time to figure out what precisely to do.

It was noon on the day following Sirius' bite, and the scruffy canine had remained unconscious or just slightly awake since it had occurred. Remus, of course, worried endlessly about this, but his nerves were eased slightly when he forced himself to remember that Sirius did this on Saturdays anyway and that Madame Pomfrey was a skilled healer. Even so, when the big, grey eyes of Sirius finally opened to their normal aperture once more, Remus let out an immense sigh of relief, causing the two that had been waiting on their own beds halfheartedly reading or doing homework to look up and hurry over at the sight of the stirring dog.

"He's up!" said Remus unnecessarily, wincing as the unsteady foot of Sirius applied pressure to a large bruise on Remus' calf as he tried to stand. "Sirius," said Remus, pushing him gently back onto his lap, "whatever you do, don't transform. There are some things we need to discuss." The dog, still looking a little worse for wears, cocked his head curiously and shifted himself into a more comfortable position (for himself) on Remus' beaten legs. Looking around through his dog eyes, Sirius recognized the inside of Remus' bed and vaguely wondered what he was doing there, amusing himself with some jokes on the topic he would have been eager to share (and use to make his friend upon whose lap he currently resided uncomfortable) had Moony not been so insistent on his not transforming. As such, Sirius, finally settled, looked up with a most attentive face that he usually reserved only for times when Remus gave him his serious face. Anyway, Sirius welcomed the idea of having the blur of the previous night, his soreness and sickliness and his location sharpened somewhat.

"I…" started Remus, suddenly and quickly faltering. "Sirius…. Oh god, someone else say it." He looked positively ill. Even more so than a usual day after the moon. Remus, as soon as he was back to the dorm and only in his friends' presence, had completely lost his entire façade of calmness and snapped in a way that the others had only ever seen thrice before: once upon their announcement that they knew his secret, once when they told him that he had escaped for an hour one moon, and once immediately following the Snape incident. Though he had eventually calmed and adopted the duty of not taking his eyes off of the sleeping dog for an instant, it would appear that Sirius' awakening had banished his calmness once more.

"Sirius, he bit you," said James plainly. "But!" he interrupted, when Sirius' eyes filled with panic and he looked like he wanted to transform and address them and Remus swayed to the point where he looked like he might actually keel over and concuss himself on the bed post, "BUT, as long as you stay in your _dog form_," he continued, emphasizing the importance of _not_ transforming, "you should be _fine_." James being the one to keep them calm was an almost as rare occurrence as Moony loosing his cool. Usually that was Moony's job, so this reversal merely emphasized how important remaining calm was.

Sirius barked. The others didn't know what that meant. Sirius barked again and James merely took this as a prompt to explain further. "Madame Pomfrey tended to the bite, and gave Remus some medicine that he'll be giving you daily, and until the… venom," he said, casting a nervous glance at Remus who still looked nauseous, "is out of your system, we're… you'll be able to be…Sirius, you're gonna need to spend the next month as Remus' pet dog," finished James succinctly. "You can't be a human when it's still in your body."

Sirius, tempted to whine at the prospect of being unable to be a _human_ for a month, changed his mind upon glancing at the person he was sitting on. Seeing how sleep-deprived, weakened, and self-loathing the boy looked, Sirius expressed his lack of blame as best he could. He adjusted himself, this time more mindful of Remus' injuries, and nuzzled against him, licking the side of his face. Remus, apparently lacking the energy or will to comment on how uncivilized and undignified that show of affection was, as was his usual response to licks from Sirius (human or dog), merely stroked the head of his new pet and smiled weakly. Sirius wagged his tail and took this as an invitation to add another lick or two to the first, this time earning him a light whack on the nose from Remus, though Remus did giggle a bit.

James and Peter watched this exchange, smiling, and patted Remus reassuringly on the shoulder. James also added another ruffle of Sirius' fur for good measure.

"So, Padfoot, can you manage keeping your mouth shut for an entire month?" asked Peter, deciding it was about time to laugh at the situation a bit before they started freaking out again. At this Sirius _did_ whine. Loudly. Weather it was for the sake of saying 'no' or saying 'what could possibly make you think that _this _would make _me_ keep my mouth shut' was unclear, but both sounded likely to be true.

The three spent the day figuring out what the dynamic of the next month would be. For starters, they decided exactly when Sirius would be allowed to resume human form. Madame Pomfrey had used the words 'two or three weeks,' but she had not said that with the thought of the animal becoming a human in mind, nor thinking of the possibility of actual lycanthropy being an issue in mind, and her use of the word 'or' had them all nervous, so they decided to make it four weeks just to be safe. They felt that they should be cautious and while they would assume just a few days extra would be sufficient, they had no one to confirm this, and decided to give it a bit of extra time. Then they needed to figure out a reason for Sirius to miss a month of school. That was the hardest problem by far.

"Okay… so… a month of missed school. Right," said Remus, pinching the bridge of his nose, partially at the task of figuring out an excuse and partially at the idea of all the homework he would have to do for Sirius while his hands were incapable of writing and his days were occupied by laziness and lounging around.

Upon hearing these words uttered, Sirius reacted in the same way he had when James and Peter had said it: he stood up, stuck out his tongue, tried to muster a dog equivalent to a smile, walked in a little circle while wagging his tail and then sat down to snuggle on Remus' lap extra affectionately, just to make very clear to the others his enthusiasm at the prospect.

"Dead relative!" said Pete. Sirius wagged his tail once more, and James did not miss the obvious go at Sirius' relatives he was trying to make. As such, he patted the dog on the head and said "Sirius, dear, they would all know it was a lie if we said your mother was dead. Though I suppose we could always just _actually _kill her…"

"I think it's too well known how little Sirius would care," advised Remus, knowing that saying that they weren't going to kill anyone would somehow only get them further off topic. "Ill?" he supplied.

"Yeah. We'll _totally_ get that one past Madame Pomfrey. _Riiiight_," retorted Peter sarcastically.

"Cousin! Dead _cousin!_ He doesn't hate all of those!" said James who had apparently missed the ill part of their discussion altogether, caught on the idea of pretending (or not pretending) that one of the people who had made Sirius' life hell had died.

"James, I'm sorry, but the fact of the matter is that Sirius has too well-known a family and too many people would wonder," said Remus, his hands wandering from the bridge of his nose to his temples. "I think a friend maybe. A close friend. An ill friend who's only got a month to live."

"Aw, but that's actually saaaad," whined James, hugging Sirius who was now doing a superb job demonstrating how the expression dubbed 'puppy dog pout' was even _less_ convincing on an actual puppy dog than just any average whiner.

"So you want us to say 'yeah, Sirius was so _happy_ he just _had_ to take a month off!' hm?" asked Remus, flashing James a dangerous 'the moon was last night and I'm STILL PMSing, so don't test me!' look that James and Peter ignored completely, as per usual.

"What? He's rich and from the _Black_ family. He can do what he wants," said Peter, sitting down now.

"I think Sirius has publicly separated himself from his family enough for hat excuse to be pretty useless. Anyway, sick friend is the best bet," said Remus, leaning back and closing his eyes. Not the best plan as Sirius took this as an invitation to curl up and lean against the lycanthropes face. Surprisingly, Remus did not object.

"Girlfriend, perhaps?" supplied James. Remus' eyebrow twitched. No, he thought, Sirius had quite enough of _those_. The thought was a little bitter and petty for the situation, he supposed, but he was _usually_ bitter and petty when it came to the girls in Sirius' life. Odd, considering 'petty' wasn't _usually_ a word most associated with the withdrawn bookworm. But honestly, the girls were just so steadfastly… _there!..._ All the time! In their common room, in their _dorm, _in the hallways, at meals. Always. Now, contrary to popular belief, Sirius wouldn't date _anyone_. He chose girls that he thought his friends could stand, who were pretty and who were at least _somewhat_ to his taste, and he didn't switch them up every other day as most seemed to think. That, however, didn't change the fact that they were _always around._

"_That_ is even _less_ believable," said Remus, hoping that his voice didn't sound too irritable. "A friend," he decided. "One from a summer vacation. One you don't talk much about. I'm not sure how exactly we can drag that out to take up a full month, but… we'll manage it. Dumbledore's a huge softie, he'll buy it. Or maybe figure out that we have a good reason and let us get away with it. Anyway, I think it's our best bet," finished Remus definitively.

"Alright," agreed James, nodding.

"Sounds good," said Peter. "His name can be John. John Smith."

"Peter! Oh my god! That is _depressing!_ I can't tell if that's a joke or if it's actually the extent of your originality!" cried out James instantly, to which Peter shrunk back defensively, apparently having outlived the glory and slight credibility of the previous night of good thinking and watching over his horribly wounded friend.

"Fine, then let's hear _you_ think of something better," challenged Peter.

"Daniel Herold," decided James on the spot. Peter opened his mouth before he even could think of a retort, and after a moment of him sitting with his mouth open in silence, Remus interrupted.

"Daniel Herold it is, then. A bit plain, but it'll do. If we call him John Smith,_ no one_ will believe us, Pete. And I suppose the same goes for a name like Merlin Ravenclaw. Daniel Herold. Okay, so… we'll need a few ideas about what this guy is like, his story and such, and a fake letter." And that occupied the next hour or so of their weekend.

Next was the explanation of the sudden appearance of a dog, as it was decided that keeping Sirius cooped up was not at all wise and if he were discovered rather than announced, it would look more than a little suspicious. On this one, at least, they wouldn't have to fool the teachers, as Madame Pomfrey knew the true origin of the dog and could therefore vouch for him amongst that portion of the population. Despite the fact that the decision to get a pet was not all that sinister, it would appear to students somewhat suspicious to get one with no warning and for it to vanish after a month. It was therefore decided that 'Midnight,' as he was so cleverly dubbed, would be explained as the dog of an Uncle of Remus' who had wished to go on vacation with just his wife and not bother with the hassle of a dog. As for the rather obvious overlap between Sirius' absence and Midnight's presence, they had decided to deal with it by not actually showing Midnight to the public until the following Wednesday, and to either have him vanish before Sirius' return or appear on occasional walks with Remus after Sirius' return. They would cross that bridge when they came to it.

Then they decided that they were about done with planning for the day. James, having the attention span of a two year old that could be extended at most to an eight year old when his friends were in any sort of trouble, vanished to chase Lily. Peter, having an attention span that usually chose to be focused on whatever James was doing, followed almost instantly. Remus, still bed-ridden and intent on keeping Sirius company, Shifted around and gave Sirius a look. His eyebrows were raised and he was not showing how much he enjoyed either this alone time or his particular position looking down on Sirius.

"So. Just you and me," he observed, to which Sirius rolled over and panted, exposing his belly in the most obvious gesture of 'pleeeeaaaase scratch my tummy!' he could muster. Remus rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatedly, but obliged with little second thought. "So what now?" asked Remus, refusing to smile as Sirius looked absolutely adorable at him. "I know…" he mused, smirking somewhat now. "You're still… filthy." Sirius' tail stopped in midair and he became utterly still. It wasn't so much the thought of Remus bathing him, which he would normally use as a wonderful theme for jokes that would never end, but more to do with never having bathed as a dog before. Or been _bathed_ before, by someone. And also, in his dog form, the power between he and Remus was inevitably switched, which made him somewhat nervous in general.

Then, mostly due to the fact that Sirius lacked the heart to put up a real fight against his sickly friend, Sirius shortly found himself in a bathtub with water pouring onto him, pointing his nose in the direction he wanted Remus to turn the knob for a suitable temperature. Ultimately it was quite a project. Neither were quite ecstatic at the sight of the water turning red when Remus scrubbed the fur around Sirius' neck, but they brushed that off and generally had an interesting experience filled with splashed water and more soap ending up in Remus' hair than Sirius'. Brushing his hair was interesting as well. Mostly as, for some reason, every time he transformed into a dog, regardless of how messy or neat it had been before, his dog hair was in a permanent state of utter grossness that had little to do with the state of his human hair. Ultimately, one hour later, Sirius was dry and looking rather amusingly groomed to the point of making a show-dog jealous. Meaning he wasn't half as scruffy as before… maybe a fourth.

The pair spent the rest of the afternoon playing an improvised, dog/human-accessible version of chess, at which neither were too good, and milling about finding ways of entertaining themselves. They ended the first day with three of the four crawling into their respective beds and Sirius sitting beside Remus'.

"What?" asked Remus, eyebrows raised, in a tone of completely false annoyance that Sirius knew well. And he knew what, but enjoyed watching Sirius beg. After a minute of amused silence, he patted the bed beside himself and Sirius gleefully leapt into Remus' lap. Remus smiled fondly and stroked the fur on Sirius' clean head. He reopened the book he had been reading when Sirius had begun to beg. Sirius whined and nudged the book. "What now?" Sirius nudged it with his nose once more. "What?" Nudge nudge. "Oh come now, you can _read_. _That _hasn't changed." Sirius whined. "Fine," said Remus, rolling his eyes, and he flipped to the first page of his book. If Sirius was going to get what Remus was sure was his first exposure to Charles Dickens from him he was going to get it properly from the first chapter. Then, with a quick silencing charm so as not to disturb the others, Remus begun to read Great Expectations aloud, complete with improvised voices for each character. To his surprise, Sirius immediately calmed, resting his head upon the thinner boy's chest and following along in the text, his expression demonstrating nothing but the utmost attention. For this, Remus thought himself to be a complete and absolute _girl_, but it sort of made his heart… flutter.

**A/N I truly would appreciate a favorite or a story alert, but just so you know, if you do that I have no doubt in my mind that you have something to say, so for the LOVE OF GOD, REVIEW! Thaaaanks :) xoxoxoxo**

**Also, quick side note, so after making Sirius criticize **_**poor**_** Peter of unoriginality, I had the nerve to comprise a name out of the first and last names of two of my friends… Oh, for shame, me. Poor show. Anyway, that's all :)**


	3. Remus and James totally the best

**A/N New chapter! Thank you all SOOOO much for the reviews! They literally make my day every time I open my E-mail to find them. If you are a writer, I'm sure you understand the decision. Now, without further ado, I present to you chapter three.**

**Chapter Three: Remus and James; totally the best actors ever.**

The pair awoke the next day with Sirius' furry head resting upon Remus' chest. Sirius refused to let the fact that he was a dog change his usual habit of taking advantage of the two or three mornings a month where he awoke before Remus. After admiring Remus' not-so-elegant, open-mouthed sleeping face for a moment, he licked his face from chin all the way through his messy morning hair. When all that did was make the werewolf's brow furrow and his hands wave around in a blind attempt to get the offender off him, Sirius proceeded to bark as loudly as humanly possible.

"BLOODY HELL!" shouted Remus instantly, who would've leapt or at least promptly sat up had he not been completely draped with dog.

Sirius barked some more, a skip in his step as he pranced happily around Remus' bed and body, his tail wagging, apparently very pleased with himself for his success in waking Remus up. Remus didn't even muster the energy to roll his eyes, and merely flopped back onto his welcoming, disheveled pillow.

"You're _so_ lucky I forgot to take down the silence charm last night. Peter would _kill_ you if you took away from his precious weekend sleep," said Remus, stifling a yawn. He dragged his hand sluggishly through his hair, cringing as he felt that the left half of his head was absolutely drenched in Sirius' considerable drool that, in his dog form at least, he could summon out of no where. Peter possessed the unique and invaluable talent of sleeping in to whenever he damn well pleased. On a weekday, for instance, he was perfectly fine with waking up at seven. That was what he was accustomed to. On a weekend morning, however, the combined wrath of God and Satan would be channeled through Peter and unleashed on whatever poor soul decided to wake Peter before 11:30 am on the dot. It was literally the only time in which the other three were forced to take him seriously, for the sake of their own welfare.

Sirius licked him again.

"Useless mutt," muttered Remus, looking rather grumpy, but scratching Sirius behind the ears anyway as he swung his feet out from beneath his sheets and through the curtains, landing them soundly in his carefully positioned slippers in a way he had rehearsed nearly every morning since he had discovered a soul-mate in those worn old slippers.

"Rise and shine, Moonshine," said James pleasantly, looking up from is daily prophet (which Remus could be almost completely sure he was reading only for the added effect of it combined with his calm sipping of coffee, as it was the issue from the previous morning) in a matter of fact way. 'Moonshine,' despite Remus' greatest efforts, had become the variation on his normal nickname, or 'sub-nickname,' of choice amongst his close friends, thanks mostly to the dog who had just emerged grandly from Remus' bed.

"Morning, James. I hope you haven't been pretending to read that paper for _my_ benefit. Not much use reading something just for show when you're _alone_," commented Remus, though he knew that James could give Sirius a run for his money when it came to unnecessary dramatics. The pair of them never ceased to amuse and exhaust Remus every waking moment of his life, usually regardless of whether they were actually present or not. They had their ways.

Once Remus was suitably dressed and had completed his morning ritual of brushing his teeth, shaving and, this morning, washing dog-spit out of his hair, James removed his supposedly-sophisticated robe he insisted on wearing in the morning (often along with a completely fake pipe and, today, a newspaper) to reveal himself to be fully clothed and ready to start the day already, and the pair set off, ready to face the world with explanations of Sirius, or rather lack thereof.

Sirius, meanwhile, paced the room in desperate search of something to do. He settled on a book, but his paws made turning the pages difficult and he ultimately decided that he had no patients for delicate paper things. He therefore decided to see what exactly it was that dogs were raving about, and chew on something. Not one of the sticks he found in the forest, and not the leg of a werewolf as he and his friend fought fiercely. Something forbidden. A sock.

This particular article of clothing, incidentally belonging to Remus, kept Sirius entertained for approximately twenty minutes. At this point, he decided to rest on Peter's bed and wait for him to wake up, or for the others to return. The former happened first. At 11:30 precisely, Peter stirred, his eyes beginning to open. As soon as they completed this process, they were greeted by the face of a dog leaning in not but two inches away.

"Bloody HELL, Sirius!" exclaimed Peter, making Sirius do another four-legged victory dance. He even licked Peter's hand. The hand was about as far as he would go with Peter, except on special occasions.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the castle, James and Remus were having a less enjoyable time.

"Good morning," said Dumbledore cordially as he stopped beside the pair in the hall. The pair muttered a 'good morning, Sir.' Not one to miss a trick, he quickly noticed the lacking Marauder (other than the one who was known for sleeping in) and the poorly-hidden nervous expressions the two wore. "Whatever has become of Mr. Black, this fine morning?" he inquired smoothly, a glint in his half-moon glasses. His pleasant, unsuspecting smile never wavered.

"Actually, um," started Remus, who was clever, smooth and witty around his friends, but often froze in moments of pressure with people he was less comfortable with.

"He's gone," said James plainly, a well-rehearsed look of apology on his devious face. "Actually, Sir, it's lucky we ran into you. Something urgent came up and, well," he scratched the back of his neck nervously, "you know Sirius. He took off. We couldn't stop him. Something about wanting to leave to be there as quickly as possible and not wanting the school to have to contact his family because they might stop him," said James convincingly. It was clever of him to mention Sirius' parents, as Dumbledore was well informed on the situation with them and sympathized with Sirius greatly.

"Hm," said Dumbledore pensively, fully attentive now as it would appear one of his more rash students had some how escaped his watch. "And what, pray tell, has dragged Mr. Black from his studies so quickly and on such short notice?" he asked, his voice taking on a more serious tone now.

Remus watched, amazed, as James, with the perfect inflection and hesitation said "um, well, Sir, it's a bit personal really, but he…" beautiful hesitation "he told us to show this to you…"

James looked over at Remus, who was still gazing transfixed at James, wondering if he was considering acting as a career. Remus, careful not to look too surprised or confused, cottoned on and retrieved an envelope from his front pocket and handed it to Dumbledore. The handiwork was mostly that of James and Peter, while much of the wording was edited by Remus. It had been addressed perfectly in a fake handwriting that matched the contents, sealed in an envelope and the removed. The envelope had gotten a bit of dust on it from it's supposed long flight and the letter within had several obvious tear stains, courtesy of Peter after having been stabbed rather hard with James' wand.

Dumbledore scanned the contents quizzically, his gaze softening with every line. He was clearly buying it. When he looked up his expression was solemn, and he placed a hand on Remus' shoulder. "Please, if you hear from Sirius give him my most sincere apologies. But have you any idea when he will be returning?"

"Well, the way we've heard it is that, well," stumbled Remus, who could lie up a storm to anyone who he didn't respect as much as Dumbledore, "his mum didn't know about this friend, because he was a muggleborn, so he didn't see him much and now he seems intent on staying with him until… Well. He says he's got a month at most. I can owl Sirius his homework so he can hand it in upon arrival. It just seemed to mean so much to him, Sir," he concluded, a look of such honest earnestness in his eyes that Dumbledore couldn't say no.

"Very well. Tell him that in future he should consult a teacher before making the decision to skip a month of school," said Dumbledore, casting the two a small smile to show that he knew that was an unlikely thing for Sirius to do.

"Thank you, Sir," chorused Remus and James gratefully.

The minute Dumbledore had rounded the corner, the two could breath again. They sighed, they caught their breath and they laughed triumphantly on their way back to the common room. Their arms were laden with thrice the usual they brought back for Peter, and when passers by looked questioningly, they merely shrugged and bit into a scone themselves.

"He bought it!" announced James cheerfully upon entering their room.

"Brilliant!" said Peter happily, high-fiving James. Sirius leapt up as well and licked James right across the face, to witch James unashamedly did the exact same to him.

"_That_," exclaimed Remus, putting one hand over his averted eyes and one in a gesture of shunning towards the other three, "is absolutely _sick!_ James, come over here so I can scourgify your mouth!" James stuck out his tongue , complete with several slimy, black dog hairs, and was amazed when a well placed spell actually _did _scourgify the inside of his mouth. He gagged. It was the sort of thing parents threatened, but never actually did. It tasted _awful_, and felt like someone was plucking all the plaque and dog hairs out of his mouth by hand just super quickly.

"Ew! Moony, you don't actually _do _that! No one actually _does _that!" said James, absolutely having a fit, much to Remus, Peter and Sirius' amusement.

"Toooo bad," trilled Remus, grinning and scratching Sirius behind the ears. "Aw, look at you," he said, turning to Sirius with a mock baby voice. "Now you've got _human_ spit positively _dripping _down your face after I gave you a _bath_ and _everything!_" cooed Remus to his new adorable pet. Peter cracked up from the combination of the idea of the two bathing, the voice and the fact that Remus was now pinching the poor creature's cheeks. Sirius, also more amused than agitated, was wagging his tail.

Today it was decided that James would spend the afternoon locked up with the dog. None had the heart to leave him alone, nor the death wish, so despite Sirius' obvious gestures indicating that they could leave him alone if they wanted, Remus and Peter departed to have a fun Sunday while James stayed behind.

Sirius looked up at James. James looked back, no sign of being about to say or do something humorous in his face like usual.

"Does it still hurt?" he asked. Remus had already asked. Sirius shook his head, even though, as he did so, the slight strain on his neck and shoulder made him want to wince. In reality it wasn't that bad. Just occasional, unexpected twinges, but it was still there, and the poison in his veins, while currently dormant wasn't exactly comfortable. James scratched Sirius' ears.

"How's being Moony's pet working out for you?" he asked, smiling knowingly. James was the only one who knew how Sirius felt about Remus. The exact words had never passed between them, but the topic had come up. That conversation had been brief and practically in code, but James had known even without that conformation. They weren't self-proclaimed brothers for nothing. Sirius wagged his tail once. James said no more on that topic.

"How's the language barrier working out for you?" was his next question. Sirius barked. "Yeah, I guess it wouldn't phase you too much. You don't really _need _words, I guess, but you certainly like to use them a _lot,_" said James. James looked over at Sirius a bit more. "Hm… wanna spy on people on the Map?" he asked, smirking. Sirius barked and wagged his tail gleefully. "Thought so."

And so they did. For several hours. It was a pastime that really never got old for those two. Peter and Remus would occasionally indulge themselves, but barely a day passed without Sirius and James lying down pouring over the Map making up stories about how someone's dot looked particularly shifty in that corridor or why someone was in detention or what two or more people were getting up to crowded together in a classroom or dormitory that didn't belong to them.

"NO!" shouted James in disbelief. Sirius howled in agreement. "Noooo! Not Professor Lionsmane and Professor Slughorn! That's gross!"

"Don't you two _ever_ stop?" came Remus' exasperated call from the door he had just entered.

"No! I'm _sure_ they're just… having a meeting or something! It can't be!"

Sirius, now actually feeling the language barrier, wanted nothing more than to shout 'THEN WHY ARE BOTH THE DOTS WHERE HIS DESK IS?' and was eternally grateful when Peter, who'd rushed over, made the loud observation for him. Sirius barked appreciatively. Remus facepalmed but eventually couldn't resist and came over to see if they were right. Indeed they were.

After that, James, Peter and Remus all departed for a quick dinner where they explained to several friends the lack of Sirius. They then rushed back to Sirius himself and went about their own businesses before bed. When that time came, Remus still found himself taken aback when Sirius was, this time, waiting in his bed.

"You may be a dog, but you still have your own _people_ bed and you are _welcome _to it," deadpanned Remus. Sirius looked up at him, looking as cute as possible. "Right, I forgot. We couldn't _possibly _have you shedding over your _own _sheets! _Never!_" said Remus, rolling his eyes as he pushed the dog over to make room for himself. That night, he read aloud to Sirius without being prompted. He fell asleep with the dog who was the object of his affections sprawled across his chest.

**A/N soooo what'd you all think? Good? Bad? Reviewable? I THOUGHT SO! NOW CHOP CHOP GET TO IT! REVIEW LIKE THE WIND! THANKS FOR READING! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX stay tuned. **


	4. In Which Sirius Feels ManPain

**A/N Hullo. Thanks to all who are still reading and a SPECIAL thanks to those of you who were awesome enough to REVIEW! :D So I'm trying to keep up the momentum so I can write as much as possible before I'm off to camp in, like, a week and a half. So yeah. Wish me luck on that. Now on with the show!**

**Btw, I wrote that before camp. I started writing this a month ago. Pathetic.**

**Chapter Four: In Which Sirius Feels Man-Pain.**

That morning was a Monday morning. Meaning school.

Remus awoke early, as was usual once he had recovered from his post-moon fatigue, and smiled fondly at the dog who was curled up against him. Deciding not to wake him, he left a note.

"_Midnight, my pet,_

_we're off to class (as some people still have to attend). Peter'll bring you lunch sometime during lunch block. James has a free in the afternoon so he'll come check in on you. I would during my morning free, but I have a meeting with Prof. Binns about an assignment. See you later, and do __**attempt**__ not to shred any more of my socks._

_-Moony_

_PS __**Yes, **__I know that was __**you!**_**"**

After taping that securely to the snoozing dog's nose, he rose and left with the other two.

The day them proceeded as follows:

In the morning, Remus, Peter and James all shared a double potions, in which Remus exploded a cauldron. This was not unheard of, as Potions was essentially the only class at which Remus didn't excel, but Remus liked to think he had cut back since his second year, so that it almost never occurred those days. James laughed hysterically. Peter did not, as most of the failed attempt at whatever sort of potion it was had ended up soundly in his lap. Lily had been kind enough to give Remus some tips on the second try, but had stalked back to her table after an interesting encounter with James' wandering hands, leaving the boy with snapped glasses.

After that, they had a History of Magic class that was, unsurprisingly, completely and utterly uneventful in every possible ways. Somehow Remus managed to take notes on whatever it was that _wasn't_ going on.

Then they walked to lunch, and, true to their words, Peter was sent back early to feed the dog before Herbology.

"Midnight! Here boy!" cooed Peter as he entered, his arms laden with chicken and some cake. "Oh! Sorry, boy! This isn't for you!" he said, jerking the cake he had been holding out deliberately away from Sirius. "No chocolate for dogs!"

"Arf!" which meant something along the lines of 'touché' or 'well played, good sir.'

"Here, have some chicken, I've gotta get to class," said Peter. "Ta!" he shouted as he shoved the extra cake into his own mouth and ran out the door.

Sirius spent the entire time until James' visit eating the chicken and gnawing on the bone.

"Sirius!" shouted James when that time came. "Hullo," he said with a little smile upon seeing his best friend. Sirius had brought him the remnants of the bone, which James refused to take. He just stood and looked down amused at his friend.

"Just because you're a dog doesn't mean you _need_ to act like one." Sirius barked and jumped up and licked him. "Oh right, I forgot. You act like one _anyway_. Thank you for reminding me," said James, scratching his ears. "I figured what with your boyfriend being busy in class all day someone should remember to stop by and remind you that you're human."

"Grrrrr," grumbled Sirius at the 'boyfriend' comment. He was very defensive about Remus and most comments from James concerning him.

"Down boy," said James, still with his classic, somewhat-goofy grin.

Sirius gave a last, grumpy grunt, but calmed himself nonetheless.

"So how was your morning," said James, settling down upon Remus' bed, as he saw no reason to let Sirius shed on his own if there was already a designated dog bed. Sure enough, Sirius padded over and leapt up beside him in a place that was surely soon to be covered with fur.

Sirius then made a gesture that a lesser being may not have recognized as a shrug. James got it, however, and responded accordingly. "Yeah, I guess being a dog _would_ be rather dull. At least in here," he glanced around. "Looking forward to spending some time with Rem, though?" asked James, and Sirius knew from the expression that he was not poking fun. James was a prat, but he cared for his friends.

Sirius nodded.

"I really thinks he likes you, you know," said James. He had never told Sirius this before. "I just don't know if he's fully understood that yet. He get's super jealous of your girlfriends, that's for sure. I'd give him a bit of time, but I think you should tell him soon. I don't think Remus will make the first move. So if he doesn't seem to like you, don't let it get to you. There's always the chance that I'm wrong, but you see, he thinks you're straight. And Remus is the type to sacrifice everything of his own for the happiness of a friend. He wouldn't tell you if he thought there was no chance of you returning the feelings, and lets face it, sexual orientation issues aside, Remus hasn't got the highest self-esteem ever." It was the longest talk James had ever had with Sirius about his love for Remus, and he felt like he had finally said all he had to say. He hadn't wanted to share his theories on Remus' feelings, but Sirius really looked like he needed help on this one.

When Sirius grunted in reply, James knew that he had wasted his breath. Sirius would deny the obvious till the death if it meant not having to put himself out there. In matters of love—as opposed to the somewhat more physical or casual feelings of affection he had for his previous girlfriends—Sirius had none of the usual confidence that defined his actions in almost every other area of life. It was on the idea of close relationships that Sirius' family had scarred him most. They shouldered the blame for why any crush Sirius felt strongly about went unmentioned, any romantic relationship going to far emotionally was casually cast aside, any friendships were superficial and playful, all lacking serious emotional attachment and why family was a concept Sirius declined altogether. The Marauders were the only three that understood this; the only three that had broken through his light-hearted, casual façade into the deeper, amazing person he actually was.

"Be that way," said James, who hadn't really expected him not to be that way in the first place. He heaved a sigh and just stroked Sirius' head absent mindedly. After a while, James spoke. "So you missed an amazing History of Magic class," said James, to which Sirius made a noise that was _clearly_ a scoff. "No, I'm serious," to which Sirius _longed_ to reply 'no, _I _am!' "Catharine and Jordan invented a game. So basically they had to flick things through Binns and each person had to flick something the same size or bigger and the person to actually make him stop talking or react lost. Good in theory, right?" Sirius made an enthusiastic noise of ascent, thoroughly amused at the idea of such a brilliant game. "Yeah, so you know how that chalk board looks as old as Binns himself?" yes. "yeah, well Jordan finally matched Catharine's old broken ink well with an apple and the whole board collapsed!" Sirius barked in an obvious laugh. "And wait, wait" said James, also cracking up now. "This is the best part: Binns _kept talking!_" and with that, they both collapsed into peels of laughter, breaking only for air or for James to mock the old ghost's droning voice.

Sooner than the two would have liked, James' free was over and he had to get back to class.

This left Sirius alone and, free from the distraction of more light-hearted conversation, Sirius' mind drifted back to and stubbornly dwelled upon James' earlier comments.

_James is a moron. There's no way Remus likes me. He's never shown interest in me… he's never shown interest in __**blokes**__… come to think of it, he's never shown interest in __**anyone**__. Probably felt it though… he doesn't like to let his emotions show much… but seriously, why would Remus like __**me?**__ I'm just…. I'm…. I betrayed his biggest secret in life to the biggest git alive, I'm from a rubbish, pure-blood family that persecutes him for everything in life he can't help but be, I'm not as hard working or amazing or beautiful as him… I've got nothing. He's too good for me… _

Considering Sirius had the highest self-esteem known to man, he could really be harsh on himself when he wanted to be. It just took a lot.

Having settled once more on the fact that James was imagining things and Remus would never like him, Sirius eased his mind with a nap.

He awoke what must've been much later, as he was greeted, and most likely awoken in the first place, by the scent of left-over chicken. Having his sense of smell enhanced, he recognized it before it entered to room, and therefore was waiting to pounce on whoever was holding it when they came through the door.

Remus, as it turns out, was the bearer of food, and consequentially ended up on the ground in no time, his hands instantly relieved of their burden, minus the napkin, which it seems Sirius had been gracious enough to leave behind along with the task of disposing of it.

Sirius' night was filled with debriefing of missed material, courtesy of Remus, actually making a decent attempt at helping with homework, given how tired Remus looked, but ending up being forced to some extent to let his friend do it for him, and gnawing on a chicken bone. He and Peter hung out a bit, but perhaps it was a testament to Sirius and Peter not being the closest of the four that Peter found it not dull, perhaps, but more trying on his patience to converse with a dog than the other two had, and vice versa.

He finished the night much like the previous two, with climbing into Remus' bed, snuggling against him and hearing the words of Charles Dickens spoken to him until he felt asleep.

The following day, much to Sirius' displeasure, he was left alone yet again. It passed, in fact, much the same, only that day he received a visit from Remus and James, and none from Peter. The pair entered at 1, arms laden with scraps of lunch for their friend, and stayed for just over an hour.

"So Midnight, how've you been entertaining yourself this morning while we suffered through potions?" asked Remus, watching from his perch on his bed as Sirius devoured the remnants of a pb&j with relish. In answer, Sirius rose from his spot and dragged out what looked like something that had most probably once been a tie belonging to Remus. As it was a generic Gryffindor tie, there was no actual proof of this, but the fact that Sirius seemed to take such amusement in presenting the scrap to Remus seemed to be a hint.

"Charming," said Remus, rolling his eyes to the sound of James' suppressed snickers. Not in the least amused, he merely pointed his wand casually at the ex-tie and muttered 'repair,' and watching as it attempted and mostly failed to stitch itself back together. Sighing, he chucked the lost cause into the bin and shook his head at Sirius, who was still looking rather pleased with himself.

"Done anything _useful?"_ prompted James, still smirking at Remus' exasperation.

Sirius blinked at him. Though he had occupied his time with more than just clothing-destroying, he couldn't classify it as _useful_. James didn't expect him to and he knew it.

"Ah Padfoot. Didn't spend _all_ morning lying in Remus' bed pining for him _again_, did you? Tsk tsk tsk…" said James in a pitying voice. Sirius growled at him suddenly, and then stopped himself. He knew as a human his panic might've translated into something more subtle, but as an animal it all seemed much more obvious and suspiciously defensive. Remus, thank god, hadn't seemed to notice anything strange, as a certain amount of, for a lack of (want for) a better word, joking homoeroticism was not terribly uncommon amongst the Marauders. They were always making comments like James' and apparently Remus hadn't paid enough attention to catch onto a change in reaction.

"_That_ was a yes," said James, and Remus smirked a bit too, still not taking it seriously. Sirius wanted a way to send the "I'm gonna kill you" message to James without confirming that, in fact, he _had_ spent _some_ of the morning doing just that. It wasn't his fault his dog nose could smell Remus' scent perfectly when he lay tangled in his sheets and that he found that completely irresistible.

"Aw, don't worry, Sir," cooed Remus, sounding more Jamesy than Remusish. "You'll have me tomorrow. You get to roam free tomorrow. I'll even let you wander the grounds while we're all in class, okay?" he put on an adorable face and pinched Sirius' cheeks while Sirius made a noise of excitement.

"It actually does sound kinda wicked," said James, after suppressing a snicker at how much Sirius was enjoying being pet by Remus. "I mean, no classes, you can go wherever you want, you're a dog. I mean, being an indoor dog is boring, sure, but now you can go wherever you want! You can go play with Hagrid and Claw! They'd _love _you!" continued James. Though he knew it was a serious suggestion, Sirius grimaced with distaste at the idea. It was not so much Hagrid Sirius feared as Claw, his aptly named bloodhound who was widely known for scratching indiscriminately, be the victim dead or alive. He was also rather large, slobbery and not fixed, a thought that concerned Sirius. Mind you, Sirius wasn't either, but that was a whole different set of circumstances surrounding _that_ issue. In fact, as the thought occurred to him, Sirius promised himself, with a sudden pang of disgust, never to refer to the neutering of pets as 'fixing' them. Who even started that?

Disgust aside, Sirius had his doubts about how fun the company of Claw _would _be, but he knew he would probably end up in his neck of the woods eventually and should probably just get it over with soon and of his own will.

Soon afterwards, Sirius once again found himself deprived of company, and therefore opted to doze off on Remus bed once more, inhaling deeply as he did so. When he awoke, he realized that he must've slept far longer than anticipated, as it was dark and there was someone beside him. He craned his dog neck as best he could without disturbing who he assumed must be Remus. He wasn't sure if it was because of his tendency to fall asleep first or if tonight was different, but Sirius felt his heart skip a beat as he looked down on Remus, his hair a mess and his scars shining in the moonlight, with his arms draped protectively and possessively around his black furry body. Sirius could smell that Remus had left out dinner for him, but he found that he didn't want it. He just wanted to fall asleep to the sight of Remus undisturbed as he was just at that moment in time.

**A/N so he didn't exactly spend the whole time angsting, but I did elaborate a bit on the self esteem issues deep under the extremely cocky exterior. Sorry I took so long. Super busy. But I'll try to be quicker. Anyway, review, alert, favorite, read my other stuff… you know the drill. Catch ya later. xoxoxo**


	5. Freedom at Last

**A/N Oh hey! Sup? So I just started school again, so the whole getting time to write thing is getting harder, but I'll try to update more frequently anyway. Sorry, btw, for the lateness of both this and the last updates. I'm being so lazy! I haven't updated my pokemon fic like ALL summer! Anywho,**

**Chapter Five: Freedom at Last**

It was Wednesday morning and, despite the feeling of nausea that had started to well up in his stomach more often (no doubt from the venom passing through his veins), Sirius sprang up from bed bright and early, ecstatic at the prospect of seeing something other than the inside of his infernally human-friendly dorm room. He had been sore and sick ever since the bite, but today, he knew, was getting worse. Supposedly, when Remus had questioned Madame Pomfrey, she had said that there would be pain and it would fluctuate throughout the week. Today was uncomfortable, but not bad enough that Sirius had any intentions of letting it stand between himself and freedom. He doubted there were many things in life that _could_ at this point.

"Someone excited?" asked Remus, getting up groggily and rummaging through his bedside table's drawer. Moments later, his hands reemerged with a mystery object which was almost instantly shoved roughly over Sirius' head and left around his neck as Remus departed to the bathroom before Sirius had any time to question.

Sirius wandered over to the full length mirror on Peter's side of the room and craned his neck awkwardly in such a way that he could fully examine his new accessory, which appeared to be a makeshift collar created from a magically shrunken belt of James and a old, plain pendant, most likely borrowed from Lily, the only female likely to hand over such a thing to Remus without question. The tag read 'Midnight' in a curvy handwriting that must've been done magically, as it far surpassed the handwriting skills of any of the three human roommates.

"Like?" asked Peter, emerging already dressed from the other side of his bed. Sirius nodded. "James's belt and a necklace Lily was willing to get rid of." Sirius had been spot on.

"I'm off to breakfast. Make sure to bring down James when you come," said Peter, waving. It was a serious comment. James was late to everything when not accompanied by his friends.

Remus entered again, wiping his mouth with the back of his bare arm. He walked over to his trunk and pulled out a clean uniform. As he got dressed, Sirius took it upon himself to make sure James was ready. Within five minutes, the trio was headed down to breakfast, James still tightening his messy tie as they passed through the portrait door and into the corridor.

Upon arrival it was very quickly established that Hagrid had opted out of breakfast that morning, and therefore Remus volunteered to skip breakfast with just a bit of toast for him and the dog, so that he had time to properly introduce his new pet to Hagrid and Claw.

"Hallo, Hagrid," said Remus pleasantly, glancing briefly under the towering man's arm to see Claw laying lazily in his well-cushioned corner of the hut.

"Hullo, there, Remus!" boomed Hagrid jovially. "Wha' can I do fer you this fine mornin'?" he asked, gesturing widely for the small boy to enter his home.

"I just thought you and Claw might like to meet Midnight," said Remus, entering the humble abode followed shortly by the afore mentioned beast. "He's my uncle's, but I've been lent him for a month while my Aunt and Uncle vacation in France." Remus said this all smoothly, but not in a no over-rehearsed sounding voice.

"Hello," said Hagrid, leaning down and terrifying Sirius momentarily with the thought that he might perhaps scoop him up and examine him in some way, but he ended up just being looked at and pet rather more gently than one would expect from hands of Hagrid's size. "He's a bit scruffy, but a good-sized dog," appraised Hagrid. That was when he noticed the loosely bandaged wound on the thing's shoulder. "What happened, here?"

Remus had an answer for that, too. "Another dog bit him a bit before I got him. It's not that bad a wound, but it got infected, so I've needed to take care of it. Nothing that won't heal soon enough, though." Essentially, a true story.

"Aw, well you don't need ter worry about that with good ol' Claw, 'ere. Nicest dog I ever come across," said Hagrid, smiling proudly at the creature who, upon noticing another canine presence in the room, stood and wandered over to examine it.

True to Hagrid's word, and contrary to Sirius' previous misgivings, Claw was quite tame, if a little excited about his new friend. The worst of it was that Sirius had to put up with some sniffing in unwelcome places, and felt the need to return the favor so as not to come off as a complete odd-ball, but that was bearable and quickly over.

"Thanks, Hagrid. Good to know. Midnight is a smart dog, he's just gonna wander about campus while I'm in class, but now he knows where to find a friend if he gets bored." And with that, Sirius and Remus took their leave, being followed briefly by Claw, but left alone soon enough when the loyal dog fatefully returned to the calls of his owner.

"Well. That went well," commented Remus matter-of-factly. He smiled fondly down at his companion, who seemed to agree, and then, checking his watch, quickly recounted his schedule to the dog and ran off to Potions, arriving impressively before the arrival of Slughorn, but _just_ barely.

"Cutting it a bit close, aren't we?" asked James cheekily as Remus collapsed breathlessly into a chair beside him. Instantly upon this statement, Slughorn himself entered through the door that Remus had just passed through.

"Today," announced Slughorn in his hearty voice, passing a blind eye to the panting student who had just let his head collapse on the pile of large text books in front of him, "we work some more on our Draught of Sleep…"

Between the pair of them, Remus and Peter, on his other side, managed to make a passable potion by the end of class, of which they were extremely proud. The class however, passed slowly and dully, and, as usual, concluded with Slughorn passing blindly past their cauldron, exclaiming excitedly when he reached Lily's, and ignoring or forgetting all that he had yet to appraise, being too caught up in the excitement of such a fine student.

"This might be a stupid question," started Peter in an aggravated tone, "but isn't he supposed to actually….. care about _some _of his students other than his one favorite?"

"Yeeeah, kinda," drawled James sarcastically. Potions, though all of the four aside from Remus were just about as gifted in it as in all their other classes, was not and would never be amongst their favorite classes, partially due to the absurdly obvious biases of their professor.

Next, the trio headed off to History of Magic, where their roles were switched for an hour and a half, while Remus resumed his usual activity of diligent note taking while begrudgingly and discretely joining in the note passing that was the primary and essentially only activity being attempted by the other two. Though Binns's droning was repetitive and boring in every sense of either word, Remus still managed, somehow, to get the drift of the important dates in the class by about half way through, and then decided it was safe to engage in conversation with his friends, having a knack for sensing when a class had just stopped being informative.

"I wonder where Sirius is," he wondered aloud, quietly, but not altogether discretely.

"Ah! Moons has decided to join us!" greeted James ecstatically, having just gotten about the same amount of intellectual stimulation from Peter's conversation as Remus had just gotten from Binns. "_And_, of course, he's already talking about his boyfriend," added James snidely.

"Shut up," muttered Remus in a voice that had distinct, if subtle undertones of disappointment, thwacking James lightly on the arm. "I was just wondering what he's up to. I mean, what _does_ one do when they're a dog?"

"Considering this is _Sirius _we're talking about…" started Peter.

"He probably does just about what he always does," finished James, flatly.

Remus then drifted off, only partially aware of himself giving dethatched responses when his opinion or ascent was required in the debate or conversation occurring. He was pondering Sirius, what he could be doing at that precise moment, if he was bored, if he was sick or in pain, if he missed Remus, too. Probably not.

Meanwhile, and much as Remus had guessed, Sirius was not, at that _precise_ moment, missing Remus, which was actually rare nowadays. Instead, he was scaring small animals in the forest. He had exhausted much of the morning finding young students and charming them into giving him food. It was quite an enjoyable pastime, and it caused Sirius to mentally make a note never to deny a begging dog food again. He then paid Scar a _very_ brief visit, finding the novelty and entertainment of the situation wearing off after the first ten minutes or so, and he contentedly wandered elsewhere with an affectionate lick to Hagrid's bear-paw of a hand as he took his leave. That almost immediately led him back to where he was as Remus thought of him: pettily scaring small creatures as he loped wildly through the forest.

"ARF!" he called loudly, letting the sound ring through the woods, sending the nearest birds into flight with a start. He then spotted a new target, and quickly startled a mouse from a place it was scurrying amongst the leaves, surely doubling its already-impressive heart-rate as he did so. Another bark quickly turned into a yelp, however, when his wound suddenly shot pain through all his nerves, making his hair stand on edge and his feet loose their grace as they skidded across the leaf-strewn forest floor. He slid a yard or two, coming to a halt mere inches from an enormous tree. He used his limp legs to push himself the short distance and lent against the tree for a while as he recovered from the sharp pain and ache it left behind.

"Where the _hell_ is he?" asked James, frantically, wandering around the particular section of the grounds they were searching at the moment.

"He's probably off just relishing freedom and lack of curfew," suggested Peter, who was in a similar, if less frantic state than Sirius.

Remus said nothing. It had been approximately twelve minutes ago, about twenty minutes past the beginning of dinner, that he had pretty much started moving or speaking only when the other two had moved far enough that it was required of him to follow in order to keep them in his line of vision. He was sort of in a state of shock. See, after finding out that he had possibly infected his best friend and crush with the disease that made his own life a living hell, he had been in a permanent state of over-protection. Hence, he was currently in a rather useless state of shock, which, for the time being, the other two accepted without question.

Then an audible bark came from the forest as Sirius came ambling out, slowly but not weakly. That effectively snapped Remus out of his trance as he, followed quickly by the other two, ran to the aid of his crush.

"Sirius! WHAT THE BLOODY HELL! DID YOU THINK IT WOULD BE FUN TO JUST STAY IN THE FOREST ALL NIGHT WITHOUT TELLING US?" shouted Remus.

"Rem, I'm sure he has a rea-"

"WHY WEREN'T YOU AT DINNER?"

Peter shut up.

Sirius made an obvious gesture at his wounded shoulder with his nose, and Remus' rage turned to worry that was mirrored by all in an instant.

"Let's go to Madame Pomfrey!" said Remus. He was really quite frantic sometimes, but only on the extremely, perhaps yearly occasions on which he actually managed to lose his cool. When he lost his cool, he _really_ lost his cool.

Sirius made a noise of protest and James put a hand on Remus' arm, calming and quieting him with one action.

"Sir, is it bad?" Sirius just shook his head. "Just a momentary thing? A twinge of pain, like we knew would happen?" He nodded. "And I suppose you just needed a rest to recover and lost track of time?" Another nod. "Great, that's settled. Don't scare your boyfriend like that from now on, he almost had a panic attack. Hungry?" finished James matter-of-factly, giving the others no time to protest the boyfriend comment. James figured the least he could do to hurry the pair along was to keep the awkwardness level high and the thought of romance in the air. What better way than mockery?

As Sirius was, indeed, hungry, the group returned to the great hall just in time to scavenge the scraps with the other late-diners, some of whom were extremely interested in Sirius. Of course he had had his run ins with students that morning, but now he could be properly introduced, and they would not get in trouble for having a dog in the hall with so few students present.

"Can I _pet him?"_ pleaded a second-year girl known as Louisa, sounding as though she would gladly steal the charmingly mangy mutt were she given the chance or permission. Shortly after a good percent of the younger female population of dining hall lingerers and several boys as well crowded around the dog, saving Remus the trouble of feeding him as the observers seemed intent on shoving whatever bits of their own meals into the dog's mouth as they possibly could manage.

Surrounded by people fawning over him, Sirius felt closer to his human self than he had since getting stuck this way. Still, after an exhausting but exciting day, Sirius wasn't altogether disappointed when he was led from the fuss by an amused James, an exasperated Peter and a faint-seeming Remus.

"You did nearly give me a panic attack," said Remus as he tucked himself into bed beside his pet, book in hand with his thumb marking the place he was to pick up that night. Sirius whined and nuzzled in under Remus' arm. "I've just been stressed, you know? I just… I can't believe I deluded myself into believing that nothing like… like this could ever happen. We… _I_ need to be more careful. And I just couldn't… I honestly don't know how I would have ever forgiven myself if you had…. become like _me_. I can't put someone through that. I can't put _you _through that," Remus faded away feebly, but his heart throbbed when he felt the dog give him a small lick on his arm, not like usual, as a way to show undignified, undiluted affection or to merely gross someone out, but as merely the most genuine expression of comfort and love he could muster in such a form. Had Sirius been able to transform at that moment, it would have been a moment out of a movie or a muggle soap opera, in which all of their reasonable inhibitions faded instantly and all that mattered was kissing away the tears and making everything stop hurting. As it was, however, Remus had to be content, but heart wrenchingly dissatisfied with lying there with his love in his arms, reading the middle-most chapters of his favorite Dickens book aloud until they both independently drifted off to a restless sleep.

**A/N Sorry for how long it took. You know, school and stuff. I will write more soon. Please do read and review :D XOXOXO I'll also try to make more… plot developments and such. Maybe even some conflict of some sort, I dunno, just so it isn't JUST a romance fic… Idk, being sure at this point might give you all the wrong idea that I plan things or know what I'm doing, and THAT would be false advertising. KEEP READING! REVIEW!**


	6. Stuck

**A/N FANFICTION! Lol, I'm in anime club and someone or three people or something just like sat in Sam's mouth. It was cool. Anyway, Huzzah for a new chapter. Ummm ….. so yeah, enjoy. Review! XOXO**

**Chapter Six: Stuck**

Sirius felt better that next morning, as he walked through the clear, morning air. He had been quick about grabbing his breakfast, avoiding any attention from the fawning first-years, and now he was off into the grounds. As he wandered, he quickly found himself in a courtyard alone with who he recognized instantly as a group of slytherins. predominantly friends of Snape, and, of course, the man himself. Sirius, unwavering in his strut, headed straight toward the bunch.

"Awww!" cooed a sixth year among the bunch in such a way that, despite the fact that she said it no differently than any of the kids had the day before, made Sirius want to harm her in some way; call it animal instinct. The next moment he was hoisted into the air by the wand of a lean fifth year boy with red hair who was now guffawing at the dismayed look on his female counterpart's face.

"Oh, let him down, Princeton," snapped the girl beside Snape, exasperated and patting the distressed girl on the back. "Prick."

Snape breathed a short laugh and continued to immerse himself in a book.

"Grrrrr," rumbled Sirius quietly, as he landed on the ground, sharply and quickly biting at the offender's leg before launching himself at Snape's book, just for fun. He got a hold on it, but Snape tightened his grasps before the aged pages could slip away.

"Oh, go away, you mangy mutt," he muttered grumpily, yanking the book out of Sirius' jaws and rapping him aside the head with it for good measure. Sirius, not amused and somewhat put off, dejectedly trotted away, obeying his foe.

"Why hullo!" came an uncharacteristically cutesy voice from the owner of the feet Sirius suddenly had under his nose. "Aren't you a cute little pup. Why don't you come with me?" continued Lily, with a smirk that told Sirius that she knew a tad more than he would like.

"What do you think Sir's up to?" pondered Peter out loud to James, as he doodled absent-mindedly in his Defense text book.

"Getting fawned over by _gorgeous_ girls, no doubt, the lucky bastard," replied James, and Remus snorted.

Meanwhile, on the grounds of Hogwarts, Sirius and Lily were taking a leisurely stroll.

"Did Remus think I wouldn't notice? Sirius, you still look and act _exactly _the same, only now you're wearing my jewelry," said Lily, in a scoffing voice. She was generally of the opinion that the Marauder's in general, with the exception of Remus, were a frat club of utter tools, but James was the only one she completely loathed and that was mainly because he was so pushy about her. She hated their being jerks to her friend, but still remained decent friends with Remus, as he was at least civilized about his dislike, and rather fond of Sirius when he could keep his pratishness in check. James just exasperated her and she found Peter rather pitiful. As such, it was with mere disapproval and no actual threat that she said "I could get you expelled, you know." Behind the disapproval there was even a touch of annoyance. "I'm serious," _he hated not being able to say it!_ " you're an unregistered animagus! That's a crime. Why are you even doing this? Vacation? Stunt? Dare? Creepy fetish?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

Sirius gave her what he hoped was an exasperated look, to say that he couldn't answer, and evidentially it was self-explanatory, as a mere moment later she produced a pen and parchment. He had tried this, and it had not gone down well, but he put the pen awkwardly in his mouth and attempted once more to write legibly on the scrap pinned beneath his right paw.

Lily heaved a sigh. "I can't read this."

Sirius rolled his eyes and began to scrape a very crude picture of a stick figure behind bars. After a moment of observing the sketch, Lily said, "I'm sensing trapped, not that your artistic skills helped much. Right?" Nod. "How'd you bloody fools manage _that?_ There _is_ a counter-charm, you know that right?" said Lily, pulling out her wand as she said it. In a split second the dots connected and Sirius leapt at the ginger and snatched the wand from her loose hold, tightening his teeth around it, barely feeling a twinge of guilt as he felt his canines dig slightly into the expensive mahogany. He loosened slightly so as not to do damage. Lily looked absolutely aghast as she reacted quickly and made a wild grab for her precious wand, and when she missed she stood and neatened her robes huffily, looking livid.

"Sirius _Orion _Black," she said, seemingly pulling his middle name from thin air. "You _better_ have a _damn_ good reason for stealing my wand!" he growled, and gestured with his head to the castle. "Speak!" he did not oblige, but began to trot off, hoping she would follow him and that he could leave the tricky explaining to his fellow marauders. She did, looking all the more angry as she did so.

"Remus," said Lily, harshly enough to silence the flirty comment rising in James' throat just in time for him to catch it before it past his lips. "A word, if you don't mind?" she said, sharply and scarily, attracting several glances and several people shifted away in their chairs, dragging their plates as well. Remus, nonplussed, obliged.

"Make. Your. Filthy. Mutt. Return. My. Wand!" she said, her shaking hand pointing down at the dog clutching aforementioned object between his teeth just to her left, annunciating each syllable through her own clenched teeth.

"Um…" said Remus, utterly speechless at the scene, eyebrows disappearing beneath blondish brown hair. "Why does he have it?" he asked finally, lacking a better response as he could tell that returning it would be an impossible task at the moment. Lily glared.

"I would hope you could tell me."

"Well did you… use it… on him?" asked Remus, hesitantly. He could tell that stealing a wand was crossing a line and he knew Sirius knew it, which meant he must've been provoked.

"Sir," started Lily defensively, just as a group of first years passed, giving them funny looks. "_Sirius told me he was stuck that way and since apparently you and your troop of Neanderthals couldn't figure out the remedy, I figured I'd do him a favor he __**clearly**__ doesn't deserve!" _she hissed in his ear, careful not to let the passers by hear, for which the shocked Remus was grateful.

"You didn't tell anyone, did you!" was his first question, immediately feeling foolish for not realizing the possibility of someone _forcibly _transforming him.

"No, I _didn't_, but honestly, there is _nothing_ I can see stopping me from going straight to Dumbledore!" she snapped. Despite herself, she felt her heart churn and an intense desire to hug him as Remus' face suddenly looked so utterly defeated.

"He… something happened…. We _can_ transform him but….. we can't! something… Argh! Bugger! Frick! Something—something _bad_ will happen!" he said, suddenly frantic and running his fingers through his own hair. "I can't tell you! Argh! I can't tell you but no, no please, you _can't_ go to Professor Dumbledore! And whatever you do, _do not_ transform him! _Please!_" he said, eyes shining. Lily looked shocked at how Remus had lost his composure, and she knew whatever his reasoning was, he could be trusted.

"Fine, just… just don't do anything _stupid_! I should really report him! But I _won't. _. . And for _Merlin's _sake, make that raggedy old thing give me my _bloody_ wand back before he bites through it!"

Remus heaved a sigh of relief, and held out a hand for the wand. He returned it to Lily as soon as he was done wiping the saliva off it on his robes.

Remus closed the book after a page, looking down at the dark figure sprawled across his lap that night. "Sirius, how are you?" he asked, wondering why he asked it so rarely. Sirius looked up and made a high, throaty whining noise. "Was… did…" He didn't want to sound like he was addressing a child when he said it, but it couldn't be avoided. "Did Lily scare you when she almost transformed you?" he asked, eyes sympathetic. Sirius knew the answer. It was yes. Yes, he had been terrified in that instant when the potential lycanthropy became all the more real. When he had first found out about being bitten, he had had fanciful thoughts of running wild in the moonlight with Remus, just the pair of wolves keeping each other in check. He tried to convince himself that the reason he couldn't was just because that wouldn't be true; just because two wild animals couldn't keep each other in check, and that transforming would double the danger for all the students, but he knew that much more than that, his own selfishness prevented him from such a change. He had seen what Remus went through. Remus understood his thoughts. Remus would much prefer it that way, with Sirius as a human. Remus wouldn't even have to forgive him, seeing nothing to forgive, and that Sirius knew. But Sirius didn't want to forgive himself. He didn't know what transforming would accomplish, but he felt disloyal for letting the horrible opportunity pass. He would never again get a chance to relate to Remus on such a deep level; a level no one but a werewolf could comprehend.

He nodded. "Should you stay in tomorrow?" Sirius hastily shook his head 'no.' "How were you feeling today. Pain?" Sirius shrugged as best he could. The twinges had been the least of his worries that day, and had been nothing to the day before. "Come find me, even in class, if you start to hurt, okay?" asked Remus. "or wait outside the class, or go up to the common room. Though I don't suppose the Fat Lady will let you in… Just… I dunno, be careful. Today worried me too. I," and he realized he had been about to say it. He changed course. "I just don't ever want to see you—or… or James or Peter.. have to go through any of what I do…. It's all my fault…"

Sirius licked him gently on the hand, nuzzling closer as he did so. The pair cuddled somewhat awkwardly for a while, and eventually fell asleep in silence, still clinging to each other for support.

It was dark when Remus felt consciousness reclaim him, and it took no time at all to see what had pulled him from his sleep. The figure still clutched to his chest like a stuffed animal had started shaking and convulsing as he slept, so violently that it had awoken Remus. Remus was fully awake in an instant and sitting upright, in shock, trying to remember what to do.

"James! James, Pete! **Wake up! **W-wake up! Help me!" he cried shakily, staring at Sirius having apparently a lycanthrope-induced seizure. For a split second the form of Sirius seemed to grow and morph, and his fur looked to be receding into his skin. "_**NO!**_" cried Remus, desperately, flinging himself on his friend and attempting to physically hold him in the form of a dog. During this struggle, his two startled roommates had appeared behind him and were grabbing his shoulders to pull him away so as to give Sirius some air. Remus felt a twinge of relief when he saw that his friend remained a dog, but the panic persisted when he saw that the flailing had yet to cease.

Remus was shoved out of the way as Peter reappeared, disheveled, holding a box that Remus recognized as their mostly-stolen first-aid kit, containing some recent additions of the more specified medicine Madame Pomfrey herself had supplied him with just incase Sirius started having bad symptoms. Peter passed James a syringe hastily, knowing that he was too much of a klutz to do it himself. James, eyes wide and sweat appearing fast on his brow, almost hidden by his messy nest of hair, reached down as quickly as his shocked state would allow him and pushed the dog's neck back and injected him with less than half of the sedative in his hand. All of it was enough to sedate a werewolf, and would have caused severe damage to a dog. Sirius yelped and promptly fainted, still shivering as he went limp.

Remus started to cry silently and collapsed on the dog, pressing kisses to its head through the mangy fur as he clung like his life depended on it.

"Move," said James, harshly, emphasizing his point by grabbing Remus and gently but quickly pulling him off the black mass. He pried open the dog's mouth and set a few pills inside, letting them slide down the dog's throat and dissolve. He didn't say what they were, and Remus didn't know, but he recognized it as having come from one of the vials he had been given for taking care of the dog.

"Fix up his bandages," said James, tiredly, gesturing at the dirty bandages that had been dislodged during the seizure. "Or have Pete do it. I'm tired. See you in the morning," he finished, promptly returning to his bed with a thump as he collapsed upon it, no doubt already asleep.

Remus did as he was told, distractedly, as Peter told him that he would be going back to sleep as well. Remus felt faint for an instant as he saw the mutilation that still lay beneath where the bandages had been. There was still fur missing, and a great chunk of flesh was gone or shredded, likely never to fully heal. He continued to cry silently onto Sirius. He fussed over neatening the bandages far longer than necessary, but he was in no mood for sleep, and unable to think of something to do other than watch his secret love sleep. He notice neither the light turn on in a distant corner of the room that seemed miles away, nor the creak of the four-poster bed as James rose.

"Hey," said the skinny boy flatly.

"H-hey…" replied Remus, first moving his head in James' direction and then reluctantly tearing his eyes away from Sirius as well.

"Sorry I was so… ugh. Just… you can't freeze up like that! I almost couldn't get to him cause you were clinging and sobbing all over him!" said James irritably. "I'm _sorry_, but _Peter _got out the medicine before you. And I'm totally fine with you're _unbelievably _obvious crush on him, but who the _hell_ kisses someone when they're having a bloody _seizure!_?" asked James, angrily, oblivious to Remus' tears. "I'm _sorry_ I'm pissed, but we have _no idea what we're doing_, and call me crazy, but I don't want to see my best friend _die!_" he finished, finally, taking a deep breath, and finally calming down.

"I…." said Remus, groping around for something to say. "I don't have a c-crush on him…" he finally decided on.

"Oh _**bugger this!**_ Screw you both, you _morons!_" finished James, rising from where he had just taken a seat. "It's too _bloody_ early for this! Have fun gazing at him. _I'm_ going to sleep!" And at that he left, leaving Remus to do just that, getting little sleep that night.

**A/N So yeah. Sorry this chapter took so long! I wrote the first half and then had NO idea what else to write, so it took a while. Sorry. Anyway, I hope you liked it. BTW, I hope you don't judge James harshly on what I see as a half-reasonable/half-tired and grumpy and stressed response. Anyway, REVIEW! I will update SOON! XOXO, Kyou Fangirl**


	7. A Day Off

**A/N SO sorry it's taken me so long to update and I honestly wish I had excuses to ramble on about but really it's all just run of the mill writers block. I've actually spent time staring at blank pages, but I haven't actually updated anything in… nearing three months. I'll try to be more consistent now so as not to loose my adoring fans' attention ;) Enjoy**

**Chapter Seven: A Day Off**

Not much more than an hour could have passed between the time Remus fell asleep and when he awoke once more. The first thing he noted was the time—6:40 am, not long before he would've woken up anyway—followed instantly by what had woken him up in the first place. Sirius, newly bandaged and still slightly sedated, was limping towards the bathroom, pushing jerkily through the already-ajar door. When Remus heard the gagging noises of his friend being sick, he was reminded instantly of the pain and illness that riddled his early memories; the days of pain just after the bite in the weeks preceding and following his first moon. He wasn't sure weather it would be worse or better for Sirius, his body and immune system putting up brutal resistance to the venom whereas Remus' consumed it helplessly and without a fight, but he did know that it would take a long time to forgive himself for putting Sirius through anything even _resembling_ what he himself had endured.

Deftly, the exhausted boy rose from his bed and followed the dog into the bathroom. He briefly caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror as he lowered himself to Sirius' level. He looked like hell, but was nothing to how Sirius looked. He shivered and whined softly as he leaned over the toilet, chest heaving. Wordlessly, Remus rubbed circles in the canine's back while he waited calmly and motionlessly for the vomiting to subside. When it did so, he stood, leaving the dog momentarily, and got him a towel to clean his face up, briefly acknowledging James, who was awake and looking through the open door from his bed, with a drowsy nod.

Sirius spent that Friday in bed, upon request from Remus.

He was abysmally bored, but, luckily, ill enough that the idea of trying to entertain himself failed to even cross his mind, and he consequentially spent most of the day napping or in a state of lovely, pain-killer-induced drowsiness. By the time he was woken up completely and permanently by the second appearance of his friends—the first having been lunch—after their classes let out, he was completely restored. The same could hardly be said for Remus, who looked as ill as Sirius had felt. This was mostly due, though Sirius had no way of knowing, to the all-nighter he had pulled keeping watch over his slumbering, sedated pet.

Remus awoke and it was dark out. He kept his eyes closed, feeling so pleasantly rested, reluctant to acknowledge that he was actually awake. The first thing he noticed was Sirius, for he could simply think of nothing else quite so warm and fuzzy that would have any business leaning on him comfortably while he slept. He next felt the other source of warmth, the fireplace, and smelled the smoky scent that so often filled the common room as the days got colder. Remembering both that it was a Friday, and that no foot-long essays would suddenly attack him should he choose to reveal that he was awake, he slowly opened his eyes.

"Evening, moonshine," greeted Peter amiably from where he sat on a cushiony, crimson seat by the tower window, clearly immersed in the beginnings of his History of Magic homework. Seeing through the window on which Peter lent, Remus noted, with little surprise, that the sky had darkened. He had slept for well over an hour.

"Evening to you, as well." Remus absent mindedly stroked the top of Sirius' head which, as he had blindly deducted, was resting rather comfortably upon his upturned stomach. "Feeling all better?" asked Remus, vaguely reminding himself that he had asked Sirius variations of that exact question for the entirety of the time between his arrival in the common room and his drifting off to sleep, and it was unlikely that the answer differed much now. Sirius nodded, rolling his eyes pointedly as he did so.

"I think you're babying him a bit," pointed out Peter in a tone which suggested that he both considered the statement to be true but rather meant the statement as a friendly joke.

"Well I did give him a potentially lethal and/or torturous disease," pointed out Remus. He had intended it to be a dry, sardonic response to Peter's chide, but he couldn't help but feel a chill run through his bones at the sheer truth of his own words.

"Yeah, and I'm not saying you shouldn't worry… and I'm not saying you shouldn't totally freak out when he has seizures—that was _definitely_ reason to freak—but you've just been a little clingy and… obsessive about him lately is all," said Peter with a shrug before turning back to his book and instantly adopting a miserable expression from the exertion of homework.

Remus, somewhat mortified at his behaviors being described as 'obsessive' in the presence of the very crush he obsessed over, dropped the subject and went upstairs to fetch his book. When he returned, he was amused to see that, no doubt for the very sake of Remus' amusement, Sirius had neglected to lay down his head, but instead used what must have been an immense amount of neck strength to keep his head in the air so that Remus could merely slide back in beneath him and they could resume their comfortable position.

"Thank you, Pads," said Remus fondly, patting Sirius as a reward for his friendly and entertaining antics. He began to read quietly to himself, but he wasn't more than a few lines in when Sirius made a faint whimpering noise. The single high-pitched squeal alone caused Remus' heart to melt and butterflies to flutter in his stomach. Nonetheless, he shot a pointed glance in the direction of Peter, hoping that Sirius would understand his discomfort at taking their late night bed time stories into a public place, but Padfoot was not to be deterred. With another shrill plea, all of Remus' resolution gave way and, with a heaving sigh, he begun to read quietly and discreetly to Sirius.

Though Peter heard this dialogue of sorts, he spared Remus the knowledge that he was being listened to. After a moment or two of letting Remus' story telling distract him and watching the pair cuddle with a distinct fondness, Peter reluctantly turned his gaze back to his homework and worked in silence.

"Dickens?" asked a female voice from an armchair about a half hour later.

Remus jumped a bit and looked up to see that Lily Evens had settled in, most likely some time ago, without his noticing. "Uh, yeah. How'd you know that?"

"Bookish, muggle-born, has a general knowledge of your taste in books," counted off Lily on her fingers. "Funny, though. Didn't seem like Black's kinda book," she continued, raising her eyes at the pair. Remus started again, glancing around quickly to see if anyone else was in the room and had heard that. Lily rolled her eyes and almost instantly after, the distinct voice of James became audible as he announced the password in far too loud a voice. Lily instinctively shut her own book and rose from her arm chair. "Anyway, nice book choice. I'll let you two carry on. See you, Rem." No sooner than Lily's skirt had whisked around the curve of the spiral staircase to her dorm and out of sight did the portrait open wide to reveal a snack-laden James with goodies for all.

Remus shut the book instantaneously. After James's all-too-true accusation of the previous night, he was in no mood for that particular marauder to walk in on him reading to Sirius who happened to be cuddling ever closer into his side. Sirius didn't protest this time, but Remus was sure he couldn't get away with actually pushing the dog away, and he wasn't sure he wanted to. This particular dilemma was presently resolved as Sirius' canine nose picked up the scent of pudding instantly and, following it, he was at James' side in no time flat.

"Plenty for all, Pads! Plenty for all!" assured the bespectacled teen, making desperate attempts to keep the elf-cooked food in his grasp with a drooling dog jumping against his chest. "Here you are, then," he said, placing a plate of pudding and some chocolate-chip cookies on the floor at Sirius' level as he said so.

"Oi! No chocolate!" snapped Remus, his gangly arm swiping the offending cookies right from under the dog's nose before he had the chance to indulge himself in one. "Not good for dogs. Now eat your pudding," he commanded, claiming the cookies for himself and taking a bite before remembering that they had resided on the common room's floor no less than a minute previously. He swallowed the bite with a grimace and put the cookies on the table rather than finishing them.

"I'll take those!" announced Peter, joining them. When Remus looked disgusted, Peter merely said through a mouthful of cookie, "Whu? Teh secuh roo!" Some crumbs spewed from his mouth on the consonants.

"He's got a point," agreed James with a shrug, relieving Peter of a cookie and popping it into his own mouth. Remus just shook his head and reached for an untainted snickerdoodle from the pile James had left on the coffee table.

Remus and Sirius finished the book that evening. As a last, yawned promise before drifting off, Remus told Sirius sleepily that he may help pick a new book the next day. With that, the pair quickly fell into a deep slumber, Remus' arms draped lazily around the thin frame of his pet.

"Bloody hell," muttered Remus, nearly doing an exasperated faceplant onto the table before remembering his head's position directly above his corn flakes. "Peter, make them go away," he pleaded quietly. Remus, ever the patient one, had always had the least tolerance for fangirls of Sirius. James's didn't bother him, but he didn't have a crush on James. If constantly being present the one or two times a girl would ask out his friend and crush each week wasn't bad enough, seeing hordes of girls flock to the dog and stroke him every time he showed his loveable, mangy, little face in public was enough to make him want to exercise his rare authority over the boy and confine Sirius to his room altogether. Remus knew, of course, that though he was able for probably the first and last time to overpower Sirius, he would have to overcome the puppy dog eyes and he simply was not up to the task.

"Yeah, old Remmy here never could seem to tame him. Lucky thing he got sent here," boasted James, waving his hand and making Sirius do all sorts of tricks as he spoke. "All he really needed was some expert training from yours truly!"

"I would," whispered Peter in response, "but that would mean making James shut up, and…" he shrugged. That getting James to do just that was impossible went without saying. Remus sighed and decided to take the alternate rout, as he was sure Sirius would be at least somewhat easier to divert than his new 'trainer.'

"Come on, Midnight," he said as he rose. Ignoring the whines from the girls he abandoned, he walked away without a backwards glance, Sirius close behind. For his cooperation, the mutt received a fond pat on the head as they neared the exit. "Good boy. Now let's hit the library," he said when they passed through the doors. Usually Sirius would've protested, but he sensed that this meant picking a new bed time story; a new soundtrack to his cuddling with Remus; a new window into the bookish world of Remus he had for so long ignored. So Sirius complied.

After their half hour or so browsing the muggle classics section of the library—a section Sirius had been completely unaware of until then both due to his lack of fondness for the library and the well-hidden placement of the small assortment of volumes that comprised the section—the pair left for a stroll in the forest without a seconds thought of the other Marauders.

This pair, however, was far from complaining, as, at that moment, they were busy stalking Snape under James' cloak and charming everyday objects in his general vicinity to cause him minor inconveniences until he was just about ready to incinerate the next door that creaked just loudly enough that it almost seemed unnatural or shred the next piece of parchment that gave him stinging, burning gash of a paper cut. Little did the others know that James had invented this brilliant pastime not only for his own entertainment but to give Remus and Sirius sufficient alone-time. The sooner the idiots came to their senses the sooner James' constant annoyance and exasperation could come to an end.

"So how've you been feeling?" asked Remus casually as he strolled casually behind the galloping dog. Sirius mentally commended him for his obviously strained efforts at holding the question in. He had resisted for an entire 11 hours of the day, during two and a half of which he had been conscious. Sirius stopped his spastic zig-zaggjng and came to a trot beside his friend, giving a nod to signify his perfect health. "That's good. You know I worry about you. I mean… I just don't want anything to happen to you and have it be my fault… I don't want anything to happen to you at all…" Sirius licked his hand. "Thanks, but I know I'm just being stupid. This whole thing sucks, but you're handling it so much better than me. I should just… relax. Come on, I'll play fetch with you. You obviously need to get some of that caffeine out of your system," Remus said with a smile as he mentally berated himself for feeding his pet a saucer of coffee that morning.

That day was spent mostly with mindless fun and tomfoolery about the grounds for both pairs of Marauders. While James and Peter finally _did _get Snivellus to completely obliterate an innocent soup spoon followed almost immediately by the bowl containing the soup previously eaten by the unfortunate spoon and spill rather unnaturally scalding hot soup all across his lap and the lap of the poor girl beside him, Remus and Sirius sat beside the lake throwing biscuits from their early dinner in a Frisbee-like manner and thoroughly enjoyed watching the giant squid brutally seek revenge on each and every morsel that dared invade the glassy surface of his lake.

"So Sir, what's the first thing you plan on doing when you're human again?" asked Remus as a conversation starter that was sure to be interesting considering Sirius' inability to speak at the time.

Sirius rose to the challenge, going through an elaborate pantomime to express his desire for chocolate, his need to climb something stupid and dangerous, his plans to sing loudly and obnoxiously and lastly the intense longing to shout loud, colorful insults at Snape. Laughing at both the dog's theatrics and answers themselves, Remus stood up and pat his little actor on the head as he walked off toward the castle which was illuminated beautifully on the left by the just-setting sun.

Sirius licked at his companion's hand fondly as he trotted along beside him. His head was racing. Sirius hadn't considered Remus' question before then and though his answers had all been true enough, the real answer—the _real_ thing that was first up on his list of things to do as a human—was to tell Remus he loved him. He just hoped he was still as confident two weeks from then.

**A/N I **_**SHALL**_** KEEP WRITING! PINKY PROMISE! Pleeeeeeease review! It'd make me super duper happy. Ttyl xoxoxoxox**


	8. the Haunted House of Hogsmede

**A/N Ok, so I know that I used the title 'shrieking shack' before, but please just… forget that. Or just accept that the omniscient narrator can use that name but it didn't actually exist yet, k? thanks. Sorry, I HATE errors like that so I needed to excuse myself. Also, just so you know, the books in this story aren't related to the story… it's more whatever book is physically closest to me when I pick a book for Remus to read. Just so you don't try to… care about their book choices at all.**

**Chapter 8: the Haunted House of Hogsmead**

On Sunday, the four went into Hogsmead. Their first stop was Honeydukes, getting the most maddening for Sirius out of the way. The fact that he was not to indulge himself in chocolate was a surprisingly large hindrance for him considering it was Remus who was the true chocoholic, but, for Sirius, not being allowed to have something multiplied its desirability ten fold. Remus didn't help. Though normally Sirius would've been fine with the sugar quill upon which he sucked, at present, he wanted nothing more than to rob his smug friend of all his chocolate frogs and munch to his little heart's content.

Next, they made their way to Zonko's, where they split up into three, Sirius tagging along with James, and purchased as many things as possible without the help of Sirius' considerable fortune. He was never one to feel bad about blowing his parent's money on useless pranks, but he did feel that having been turned into a dog meant his friends should treat him.

After that, they marched over to a small ice cream parlor on a side street, their arms loaded with new ways to entertain themselves. As they all ate their second sugary treats of the day—Remus, chocolate, Peter, Lemon Sherbert, James, cookie-dough and Sirius, whatever bites of the latter two's he could snatch—they wandered the leaf-strewn streets, grey in the overcast light of the frigid, autumn afternoon. Sitting on a bench, they joked and laughed and lounged about, discussing the upcoming quidditch match and who would sub for Sirius.

A group of third years passed by, two boys each leading a girl down the mostly deserted path. "They call it the _shrieking shack!_" said a boy in a dramatic voice. "They say you can hear wild howling in there some nights. It's haunted!" The other boy joined in by coming up between the girls and shouting 'boo!'

"That's all _nonsense_," rebuffed a girl, indifferent to the boys' antics while the other looked uneasy.

"No! It's not! Cross my heart!" assured the other boy, doing just that. "Stan told me! He said he sneaked out here one night, and he could hear it! It's not _human_! It's haunted I swear!"

The sounds of the boys attempting to creep out the girls disappeared as they walked down the road to the aforementioned shack. The four were silenced.

"Haunted…" said Remus quietly. He shouldn't have been surprised. People had talked about the shack since he first started going. He was sure the wolf wasn't bothered with stealth and howling like that really merited an excuse. But to hear it in such an official way; the Shrieking Shack; the _haunted house of Hogsmead_. "So _that's_ the excuse they've come up with." Sirius whined and nuzzled against Remus' limp hand, but the limp was presently withdrawn. "We should get back." Remus rose and began to walk back into the main town, followed shortly by his silent friends. The four stopped for a quick drink in the Three Broomsticks where James flirted with the young barmaid, Rosmerta and Peter and Sirius tried to cheer up Remus. He smiled and laughed and chatted with Rosmerta as well—they were regulars and she made a point of not telling Dumbledore when the boys were to be found in her pub on weekdays when they had no business off campus—but his heart wasn't in it. After a single butterbeer they let the landlady get back to her work and made a B line for the castle.

The common room was crowded that night, so Peter and Remus sat upstairs while James flirted with Lily and Sirius napped by the fire while girls stroked his hair soothingly. Normally Peter would've been following someone around, but he had new Zonko'z treats to tinker with and was worried about Remus. The lycanthrope's eyes were glazed over, completely stationary as he stared blankly at the same word in his History of Magic text book without attempting to make progress.

"Hey, mate. You alright?" asked Peter, making Remus start a bit.

"Yeah.. fine," replied the bookworm tiredly.

Peter was about to drop it, but when he looked up Remus had closed his eyes in defeat and rested the book against his chest.

"I can't imagine how that feels…" started Peter again, tentatively. "To have people call you… a monster."

"Not like I haven't gotten worse," muttered Remus, running his fingers through his hair.

"Yeah but this one upset you," pointed out the shorter of the two. "I know they didn't mean it as offence—they don't know it's you—but they're calling the shack haunted. They're making a show of it and everything. That can't feel good." Peter hoped he wasn't just jabbing the wound, but he wanted so badly to be able to help his friends.

"I just…" Remus sighed and then exploded. "I just don't want to _be a __**monster **__anymore__**!**_" he swung his arm and the text book flew across the room and crashed into the wall. Several pages were folded in awkward directions—a terrible offence, in Remus' opinion—but he didn't give it a second look. "And I _know_ they need a story to explain the noises! Hell, this is probably a _good thing!_ I just am so _tired _of these constant reminders of what a _freak_ I am! _Everything_ I do! **Everything!** Why can't I just be normal? Why can't _anything_ just be normal?" he choked back tears with all of his might, and even though he knew it was the wrong time to ask, Peter wanted to hear it from Remus.

"Remus, are you gay?"

Remus started sobbing. He knew his friends knew. James had even said it. But he had never been asked; never had to give a concrete answer.

"I _can't be gay!_ It's just _not fair!_ It's not _fucking_ fair! I just wanted _one thing_ to be normal for _once _in my _fucking _life!"

Peter suddenly felt like he was in way over his head. He'd wanted to help but he didn't know how. He didn't know what it felt like to be shunned for your blood status, your sexuality, your species or for being poor. And they were things that wouldn't go away. He was chubby, childish and a bit of a pathetic sort of follower, but he'd never known self-loathing on such a level, and all of a sudden he wished James or Sirius were here to think of something to say. Peter was never good at thinking for himself. He preferred to mimic James. But James wasn't there, so he just held his friend and waited for the sobbing to stop. "I won't tell anyone. And neither will James. I promise. You know we would never tell or judge you or anything, right?" Remus nodded, but Peter was sure he'd needed to be told. He was sure Remus couldn't even let himself trust his closest friends to accept him. He couldn't before and that self-consciousness had never really changed.

By the time the others ascended the stairs to their room, all signs of Remus' outburst were hidden and Peter was sworn to secrecy. While Sirius was generally okay with letting his close friends see his weak side, Remus wasn't the sort to let himself vent.

Beginning the journey of reading the Scarlet Letter aloud gave Remus a certain amount of perspective. After letting himself have a good cry—which he never does—he was already feeling better, and, awful though it may be, nothing brightened his mood quite like telling Sirius the tale of an adulterer in a strict, puritan society. Whether he was happy to live in a more accepting age or whether it was the pure schadenfruede of it lifting his mood was anyone's guess, but he went to bed that night feeling better.

He woke up feeling like Hell. He had a headache from crying, a crick in his neck from letting his head roll off the pillow and whatever soothing power had lulled him to a calm sleep had long since abandoned him and he was back to his neurotic self. Nonetheless, he dragged himself down to breakfast and tried not to let his bad mood show.

James, who had the least desire to arrive at potions in a timely manner, took over Sirius watch for the task of escorting the dog the Hospital Wing, where he and Remus had scheduled a check-up for him. Sirius was less than thrilled.

"Bye, Midnight!" cooed James, scratching affectionately behind his ears as he made to leave for class. Madame Pomfrey checked her watch pointedly, far from amused at the boy's obvious prolonging of the goodbye, no doubt to avoid his first class. "Alright! I'm off!" he announced, walking backwards from the room, still waving to the dog. "Be good! Call me! Get better!"

Madame Pomfrey rolled her eyes and began prodding and examining the dog. She took his temperature. After taking a closer look at the festering wound on his shoulder, she rebadged it and then insisted he wait in the hospital wing until lunch when Remus could pick him up. It may very well have been the dullest part of his imprisonment in that infernal dog body yet. He decided the best waste of time would be to follow around Madame Pomfrey obsessively. It was passably entertaining, but he absolutely leapt for joy when Lily appeared at the door.

"Remus had to stay to clean up an exploded potion so I volunteered to fetch Midnight," she explained to the Nurse.

"Very well," agreed the woman, a look of relief on her face now that she was relieved of the obnoxious shadow that had haunted her all morning.

"Come on, boy," said Lily with a smile, patting the dog's head as she exited. "In case you were wondering," she started, now addressing Sirius, "those _other_ two couldn't come because they're 'supervising' the cleaning operation." Sirius inwardly laughed. They were plenty helpful to their potion-challenged friend, but that didn't mean they wouldn't give him a hard time when he screwed up. "Marauders," muttered Lily, rolling her eyes. "What nonsense."

Sirius licked her hand and she smacked him.

James was proud of Peter. This rarely happened. He was fond of the boy, he was one of his best friends and he'd known him longer than Remus or Sirius, but it was a rare day when he looked at Peter and thought 'you just did something good completely independent of me and for that I respect you.' But while the pair sat on Slughorn's desk, eating Bertie Bott's Every Falvour Beans and watching Remus toil away by hand on the mess across the room, occasionally shouting encouragement, Peter had recounted the previous night's activities, leaving out any mentions of crying, and James was legitimately proud of the stocky boy.

"I should've been there. That was really decent of you, though, Petey," said the boy, patting his friend on the back. Remus' swearing could be heard across the vacant dungeon. "Need help there, Moonshine?"

"Are you _actually_ offering?" asked Remus, willing the blotchy stains to just clean themselves already.

"No. Just wondering," said James, pleased at his little jibe.

"Anyway, I think he's having a bad day. Probably best not to say anything though," mused Peter. "He's not big on the… addressing problems thing."

"Yeah, probably right. Hm….. Bored now!" announced the bespectacled teen, thumping the oaken desk as he jumped up and crossed the room, Peter in tow. As he passed Remus, he flicked his wand and ridded the floor of the mess in an instant.

"Oi! Slughorn said no magic! _No magic!"_

"Come _on!_ Lunch!"

"Ugh…" Remus glanced from his quickly-disappearing friends to the already-gone mess and as his stomach gave a loud growl, ran to catch up with a sigh of exasperation.

"Oh and genius," said James with a smirk. "He charmed the stain to resist scrubbing. Guess you exploded one too many potions for his liking this week. Right vindictive bloke, ole' Sluggy is." Peter laughed along and Remus just smacked the back of his head lightly.

"Could've told me that!"

James shrugged. "I wasn't hungry yet."

"Bastard."

The three met up with Sirius and Lily about fifteen minutes into lunch and, as Sirius was already seated beside her, James and Peter took that as an invitation to do the same. Remus followed, but he at least looked sorry and said excuse me before making a girl move over for him.

Remus, James and Peter each envied Sirius to some extent. Sure the nausea, boredom and imminent threat of lycanthrope must suck, but Sirius wasn't cooped up in class on what was shaping up to be an unseasonably perfect afternoon. Both Peter and James fell asleep during at least one afternoon class. They were very lucky to have Remus as a friend and loyal note-sharer.

That night they all went to bed as usual and Remus read to Sirius. At about 11, he closed the book and muttered "nox," but he didn't go to sleep. He stared at the cloth hanging above his head and let his mind dwell a bit on how the gold strands in the pattern managed to glimmer without any light source at all but he knew he was just stalling. There was something he wanted to do and he wanted to do it before he freaked himself out again. He heaved an enormous breath and closed his eyes before speaking to the dozing (but not sleeping) lump in his arms.

"Sirius?"

The dog wagged his tail once as a sign of life.

"Can I tell you something?"

Wag.

"Well… James and Peter already know—I didn't tell them—but I figure it's only fair that you know too…"

He breathed for a minute, savoring what he was quickly becoming sure would be the last moment of friendship with Sirius of his life, and became aware of Sirius lifting his head to give him more attention. He knew it was dumb, but he was so nervous he actually began to tear up. He was immensely grateful for the dark shielding the fear and wateriness of his eyes. He knew he couldn't keep Sirius in suspense any more and he couldn't back out.

"I'm gay."

Sirius couldn't say anything, couldn't voice the surge of hope or the complete and utter acceptance he wanted Remus to feel, but he did his best. He nuzzled in closer, licking him affectionately, and cuddled that way until the werewolf fell asleep.

When Remus awoke the next morning, he saw that random items had been retrieved from canine-accessible parts of the room and arranged in a heart on the floor beside his bed. It was the color scheme that made him smile. The items had been carefully chosen and arranged in a rainbow. He knew everything would be ok.

**A/N Yeah… So I tried to think of a plausible thing that was quirky enough for Sirius and would do a cute job of saying it's ok to be gay. Now I really wish my dog had done this for me when I came out. Actually, I don't think I ever told my dog I'm bisexual… wow this Author's Note just took a turn for the weird. Anyway, hope you guys found that last bit cute and liked the chapter. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	9. The One with the Attractive Ravenclaw

**A/N It's been shamefully long. Again. I'm so mad at myself. Also, I haven't updated ANY of my other fics in MONTHS. THIS IS SO SAD. Ok, well here's the next chapter. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 9: The One with the Attractive Ravenclaw**

By Thursday of that week, Remus had stopped feeling self-conscious about his sexuality. It wasn't as if it were a common topic of conversation, or, indeed, one that came up at all, but the bookish teenager had still spent much of the week just waiting for his friends to spontaneously recover from their delusional states and remember that gays were the enemy. No such horrors occurred, however, and, within three or so days, he started to adjust to the idea that perhaps they were _actually_ fine with it. The cause for this was most likely the presence of a test, a quiz and an essay due the following day, the combination of which managed to keep his mind from obsessing just long enough for him to remember how awesome his friends were. And he aced each major assignment, of course.

Sirius, on the other hand, spent the better part of those days prancing around like a little pup, happy as could be. Happy, that is, until Wednesday, at which point he was overcome with an intense stomach flu and was henceforth confined to a makeshift dog bed in a separated section of the hospital wing, so as not to put off human patients with the sight, sound and stench of the retching dog. In most cases, such a matter would be taken care of by a pet's owner in school, but Madame Pomfrey's fondness for the lycanthropic child and her knowledge of the dog's plight made her more inclined to continue offering assistance. This doesn't mean she enjoyed the company of an extra heaving, limping, whining burden, and, as such, both the healer and her canine patient were immensely relieved at the sight of Remus walking through the door of the Hospital Wing that day after his last class. As it became apparent that Remus intended to take over Sirius-tending duties, Madame Pomfrey wasted no time in rising and exiting, muttering all the while about all the better uses of her time.

Sirius could tell that Remus was still nervous and self-conscious, despite his most desperate attempts to show his approval and support in every possible way, but it appeared to be subsiding. At the moment, at least, Remus showed no signs of discomfort as he sat down beside the bed-ridden dog. They spent the evening in silence, Remus stroking and rubbing away the pain as he tended to his homework with his other hand. Sirius, despite his continued discomfort and sporadic vomiting, did not fail to recognize this as the first time since his coming out that Remus initiated any sort of affection or contact himself. So it was that by Thursday, as previously stated, Remus was once again comfortable around his friends and Sirius, though dreadfully tired, was once again in decent health and staying in the dorm. While Remus finally let himself bask in the apparently permanent acceptance of his friends, Sirius napped off the previous day's plight in the comfort of James' bed—his favorite due mostly to its tendency to be comfortably toasty during the day because of its convenient location in the most consistently sunny part of the room.

Having, upon Sirius' request, slowly chipped away at The Scarlet Letter during the week, despite the awkwardness, they found themselves now faced with another book decision. Remus, intent on introducing absolutely essential muggle authors to his friend's repertoire, decided on Matilda. That night, he read just enough to his clearly exhausted friend to impart a sufficient sense of fondness for the precocious title character before closing the book and extinguishing his wand. That night, when Sirius cuddled up to him, Remus didn't shy away, but rather wrapped his arms around the furry form and proceeded to instantly nod off into an thoroughly restful sleep.

Remus supposed, as he entered the Great Hall that morning, that he should honestly have expected mischief when he woke up to find Sirius missing when Sirius honestly had no place to be. Sirius' waking up early on a Friday when he had just recovered from an illness and was not required to be in class was astronomically unlikely unless it involved something mischievous—the sort of thing Remus was often bribed to turn a blind eye to, as a prefect. The second hint that ought to have prepared Remus was the absence of James. The pair disappearing together at unlikely times of day could never bode well. All the same, when Remus and Peter entered the room for breakfast, they were caught utterly off guard by the sight of James riding a saddled Sirius through the air above their heads.

Adjusting quickly to the scenario, Remus' first step was to mentally place the prank in it's proper category. Seeing no way this stunt could harm Snape, woo Lily or somehow excuse them or larger groups of people from classes, this was in Remus' least favorite category: just because.

Yes, thought Remus with an exasperated sigh, "flying Sirius" was definitely joining the ranks of such classics as "Technicolor-food day," "bringing powdered wigs back into fashion" and "house name-themed curses"—a day on which Ravenclaws quickly and mysteriously sprouted talon-like fingernails, Hufflepuffs assumed the general shape of a marshmallow, Gryffindors became literally incapable of opening doors and Slytherins were suddenly incapable of transporting themselves places by any means other than an undignified sort of squirm along the floor (utilizing of limbs strictly prohibited). Remus didn't like the category because most of what it included were pranks or other such shenanigans based solely on suddenly impulses rather than the desire to accomplish something, which made them often more ridiculous and less easy to predict and regulate.

After assuring himself of his friends' lack of motives, Remus tried to figure out by what means they were propelling themselves through the air so as best to assess the dangers and the immediacy at which they should be forced to land. By the time he had served himself from the largely ignored platter of waffles—it had lost its audience long ago to the flying teenager and dog—Remus had deduced the general mechanics of the thing: what kept them suspended was James' broom, wrapped in the invisibility cloak. Sirius was attached below the broom by some no-doubt ridiculous but ingenious makeshift harness as well as the saddle upon which sat James. Sufficiently reassured of his friends' safety now that he knew they were not suspended by the novice wand-work of a bribed first or second year, Remus proceeded to eat his waffles in solidarity, rolling his eyes repeatedly at "oohs" and "ahs" while he absentmindedly pondered where or how his goof-ball friends had managed to procure or create a dog-sized saddle.

The most eventful parts of the day were that Remus, who studied, and James, who was obnoxiously gifted, both did well on a test while Peter did predictably average, having missed the point of the essay portion but done well on the rest. Later, Remus was lectured unfairly on the "preposterousness of such tomfoolery"—meaning airborne dogs—by Madame Pomfrey, who was forced to re-stitch and bandage Sirius' almost-healed wound after it literally came apart at the seems from whatever angle he had hung at from the broom that morning. Sirius still looked rather pleased with himself, even as he whimpered in sporadic pain, but Remus wholeheartedly wished he had sent James in his place to listen to totally true but totally misdirected ranting of the healer. He was careful to thank the healer, rant or no, reminding himself repeatedly as she rambled away that she was doing him a favor, and not for the first time.

Wanting to express his displeasure with the overly self-satisfied dog, Remus refused to indulge his pleas for attention after school and instead excused himself with a pointed glare. He wasn't really too upset, but he felt personally responsible for bringing Sirius' ego down a few notches every now and again. And really, he knew, Sirius would think nothing of his behavior, probably shaking it off within minutes and wandering off to conspire with James or bother Peter. Remus decided that he would rather enjoy the peace that came with solitude than worry about what shenanigans his friends might get up to while their baby sitter was out and about—which isn't to say that he didn't contribute to their nonsense, but he simultaneously kept them within reasonable and safe limitations while adding his own subtle genius to the spectacle.

"Taking a break from baby sitting?" called Lily from some feet behind the wandering wolf.

"Lily, that is _precisely_ what I'm doing," said Remus with a fond smile, identifying one of his few sane friends before turning on the spot to greet her. "Hullo. How'd you do on the test?"

"O," announced Lily with a shrug, not being one to boast about grades, but not exactly bothering to hide them either. "Yourself?"

"Same. Well done, us," he replied with another smile. "How've you been lately, Lily?"

"Can't complain. The novelty of having a new pet seems to be distracting Potter from harassing me for the time being." Remus could honestly see the appeal of getting a vacation from James. Being a committed friend instead of a hard-to-get crush, Remus found himself seeking relief from his eccentric friends at least weekly, and having even less success than Lily. Didn't help that he lived with them. "And you? Ready to explain the apparently irreversible condition of Mr. Black? Is it a fashion statement? An excuse to skip school? What's up?" Remus' face darkened.

"Lily, I really… don't want to talk about it. Believe me, its not a stupid prank. All you can do is not tell anybody, please?"

"Yeah, I get it," said Lily begrudgingly. "But tell Black he owes me. I'm only even doing this because I trust _you_. If I find out this is all some elaborate Potter scheme, I will take. You. Down."

Remus believed it, but that momentary dispute being settled, he decided it was a good offer, took it, and changed the subject. The pair walked, filling the chilly afternoon with companionable conversation before eventually returning to the castle and parting ways, Lily to hang out with some friends she ran into by the Great Hall, and Remus to seek out any of his roommates.

Upon entering his dorm, he was first greeted by Sirius, jumping up at him enthusiastically and licking what he could reach. "Idiot," muttered Remus with a roll of his eyes. Nonetheless, he did not deny the dog a quick pat on the head to show that he wasn't actually even remotely upset. Being mad at Sirius for his shenanigans, while sometimes necessary, was virtually impossible. His ridiculous antics were half of his charm. "What've you done all afternoon?" called Remus to the room at large. He couldn't see them, but he figured at least one roommate with the power of speech would be within earshot.

"Nappin, 'ntil you camein, ya prat!" growled James' slurred, muffled voice through his fluffy pillow. Moments later, the stag's legs swung into sight through his bed's curtains, shortly followed by the rest of his body as he wobbled unsteadily to his feet. As he groped around for a moment, Remus helpfully stepped over and handed him hi glasses from his bedside table.

"Thanks," murmured James through a yawn. "IIIII guess I've got to do homework now, don't I?" he continued rhetorically before groaning in defeat and falling back onto his bed.

"Friday," Remus reminded him, and was almost instantly greeted by most-probably fake snores. "Come along then, Midnight. Let's find Peter."

Sirius obliged, and the pair headed off in a random direction in hopes of encountering the fourth of their quartet, or anyone else of remote interest. Such a person, as it turned out, took the form of a particularly dashing Ravenclaw that stepped perhaps too purposefully from behind a corner, stopping the Gryffindors in their tracks.

Remus knew Gilderoy in passing, but they had never been close. The brunette Ravenclaw was a year above them and somewhat too popular for Remus' taste. He had interacted with him from time to time in his first year, maybe into his second, but around the time the older boy realized that his smile could melt the hearts of any and all female's within a twenty to fifty foot radius, Remus backed off and hadn't heard much from him sense. He was fast on his way to becoming a legend, though, his conquests with girls throughout the school always sure to be heard whispered across the table at breakfast or from ear to ear by giggling groups of girls lounging about the common rooms. This gossip—and Remus was never one to blindly believe gossip—was occasionally even peppered with hushed giggles about Gilderoy and what he got up to with some of his _male_ classmates as well. It was mostly credited to Remus' natural skepticism that he did not even remotely see the next bit coming.

"Hullo Remus," greeted Gilderoy with a charming smile, though not yet whipping out the secret weapon of his sparkling white teeth.

"Hey, Gilde—"

"So do you fancy going out with me this next Hogsmead weekend?" he asked forwardly.

"I—um… What?" attempted Remus, not quite sure how to appropriately react.

"You know," he said in a cheerful sort of voice. "On a date!" He said it like it was the most obvious and exciting concept in the world.

"I…" Remus, lost in thought as he mentally ruffled through a dictionary trying to remember how to speak English, didn't even notice Sirius growling or stepping in front of him. "I'm. Not. Gay…" said Remus in an awkward, mechanical sort of deadpan that was met with an almost condescending but somehow still incredibly charming little scoff and smile.

"Come now, Remus. No need to be shy. I _know,_" replied the upper classman. Remus wasn't sure why he hadn't yet tired of this nonsense and left, but found that he still couldn't leave when Gilderoy pulled back the very hem of his left sleeve to reveal an expensive-looking watch pointing in every which way. "Hour hand means gay, minute means straight and second means other. Got it for Christmas. Damn useful, but not particularly good in the way of telling time…" mused Lockhart, never taking his eyes away from Remus'.

"So what do you say?"

Remus was on the point of saying no when Gilderoy brought out his last resort. As his eyes took in the flash of bright teeth and a twinkle of the eye, it was as if his mouth was on autopilot, as, for some reason, the words coming out weren't 'no' at all. They were, "where shall we meet?"

Sirius growled insistently, failing to attract Remus' attention even as they walked away, but seeing ,as he glared behind him, Lockhart throw him a mock-scared look before walking away jauntily, a pleased little grin fixed on his attractive face. Say what you will about petty jealousy, Sirius would deny that being the real reason for his growls till the day he died. No, the jealousy was only half of the reason.

The other half is that he could smell—and was unaffected by—the love potion laced in the brunette's cologne.

**A/N yeah… the last bit's goofy, but I felt like I needed a dramatic subplot of **_**some **_**sort right now. I know Gilderoy Lockhart is the WEIRDEST choice ever, but I was looking around the internet for people from the marauder era and when I saw his name, I COULDN'T resist! I almost did Quirrel, though… idk. PLEASE review! XOXOXOXOXOXO**


	10. Always a Silver Lining

**A/N: OMG! I'm all speedy! You TOTALLY weren't expecting another chapter til at least November, were you? :D GOTCHA! Anyway, enjoy :)**

**Chapter 10: Always a Silver Lining**

To say Remus was _uncomfortable_ getting ready for his date that Sunday afternoon with Sirius in the room would be an understatement of epic proportions. The discomfort caused by his crush on his canine friend was only half the problem, too. The worse bit was that Sirius seemed to have some sort of _deep-rooted_ disapproval of his choice in dates and it was starting to make Remus defensive. Part of him was glad Sirius couldn't voice his opinions, though. It wasn't every day the shy, gay, poor werewolf got asked out by the most popular boy in school, so he'd decided to resolutely not care about Sirius' disapproval and that he wouldn't listen even _if_ Sirius could talk. Still, he found himself defending his actions automatically against Sirius' dog death-glare as he fidgeted furiously at his outfit trying to make it look as effortless as possible while still looking nice.

"He's _handsome!"_

Sirius glared. _He's not __**that**__ handsome._

"And _nice! _He's a _sweet guy!"_

Sirius glared. _He's probably the shallowest pretty-boy to ever date half of Hogwarts._

"And it's not anything _serious!"_

Sirius glared, this time with a quirk of his lips that could have been a small laugh at an inward pun he'd just made. _I don't think __**anything**__ is serious with Lockhart. Once he's gotten whatever it is he's trying to get, he'll be completely done with you. _

"And, honestly, Pads, how many chances do you think I'll even have with guys, let alone guys like _Gilderoy_!"

Sirius' glare intensified. _You will only need one chance when I am out of this stupid dog body and ask you out and we get married and you __**never have to be lonely again**__. __**And **__I'm at __**least**__ twice as good-looking as him._

"And!" started Remus, his voice a bit higher with his desperate attempts to defend his date, "AND he's smart! I'm smart! We're _both_ smart! We're smart _together!_"

This time Sirius rolled his eyes, his meaning plain. Though the Ravenclaw had earned his place in his house with a _passable _amount of cleverness, no fool would actually believe that his glowing grades were works of his own genius. Apart from them being generally attractive or entertaining people, Lockhart's love interests were, without fail, brilliant—or at the very least gifted in whichever of his classes were having essays or tests soon.

"Oh… just shut up…" muttered Remus at last, a twitch of real annoyance on his face. "Now… stay. Entertain yourself until James or Peter gets back. Can't have you following me around and embarrassing me." And, with that, the door slammed resolutely shut in Sirius' face.

He hadn't been miserably bored and alone for five minutes when James walked in the room, shouting something down the stairs behind him as he came, finishing whatever conversation he'd just walked away from. He was laughing to himself about something the other person had said and it took him a few seconds to notice Sirius, giving the dog plenty of time to put on his best puppy dog eyes.

When James noticed the dog, he raised his eyes skeptically at the pathetic expression. He gave the dog an appraising look, knowing exactly what he wanted, and, after staring him down for a minute or so, relented with a sigh, marching back over to the door and holding it open for Sirius. "Alright. Off with you then. Go stalk Remus or whatever it is you do."

Sirius wasted no times with gratitude, and quickly broke into a jog in an attempt to catch up with and locate the couple.

Sirius found them quickly once he got to the village, discerning the scent of love potion and sickeningly sweet cologne intermingling with the fainter but distinctly Remus smell of chocolate and dusty books with ease. It led him, predictably, into Madame Puddifoot's. The dog rolled his eyes. He walked in casually, as he was well acquainted with Puddifoot herself, both in human and dog form. Following the scent further, only stopping for a minute to be pet by the young, floral-clad owner, Sirius came quietly into the back room. He supposed it must be where Gilderoy always took male companions, not wanting to be so blatant about his sexuality for fear of damaging his reputation. Sirius was glad Remus wasn't going to be outed under the influence of love potion. It would be undignified and not at all okay with Remus once he realized precisely what happened.

Sirius almost gagged when he saw the pair itself—or, more specifically, just Lockhart. Remus was sitting somewhat awkwardly on one side of the booth while Gilderoy, holding himself casually but elegantly, lounged about on the other side. While Remus was dressed in a particularly nice sweater and some pants that didn't have Sirius' fur all over them, Lockhart practically matched the tacky pink upholstery covering his cushy seat. Sirius supposed he would've looked nice, if exceedingly cheesy and flamboyant, in his little embroidered gold cape and matching gold shirt, had he not been surrounded on every side by the same pattern in an even gaudier color. The effect was nauseating.

Sirius looked on with disgust, tempted to but in and third wheel as blatantly and awkwardly as possible, but decided the best he could do was lay low in the background, out of both of their sights. If Lockhart did something not down with Sirius, he was at the right level to put him in line. One sharp bite to the crotch—perfectly eye level to Sirius at the moment—would put that slut in his place… Perhaps Sirius was a little jealous after all…

"Sugar?" asked Lockhard cordially, flashing the gorgeous smile that Sirius couldn't help thinking was getting a bit over-used. Remus didn't appear to mind, and Sirius bit back a deep, territorial grown as he saw Remus' stiff poise weaken slightly at the sight, rather like a little girl with a crush.

"Please," was all he said, with a quick, nervous smile, and Sirius was glad to hear his voice holding up well, not yet giving up it's dignity by turning into a simper.

Gilderoy took the dainty little silverware in his hand and scooped the aforementioned sweetener into the other boy's floral teacup. As he stirred it in for Remus, who seemed to have no intentions of initiating movement of any sort, he picked up where he seemed to have just left off in the conversation.

"So, Remus, you were just telling me about your interests—?"

"Ah, yes," said Remus, smiling nervously. "Well, you probably know I like to read…"

"Me and anyone who's _ever_ been in the library," laughed Gilderoy. "I'm surprised they don't just wheel in your bed and curtain off a little room for you, you practically live there already."

Remus laughed. It was true. "Yeah… and, um, I like classes and whatnot. I'm rubbish at potions, but like most of the rest. I even like History of Magic, believe it or not," he said, suddenly fearing that he'd said too much—that Lockhart would think him an unbearable nerd if he kept that up.

"_Really_?" said Lockhart with fake surprise. Sirius caught on instantly. He was an expert at using Remus for his brains and work ethic and ultimately his tolerance for all things dull, so it was easy to pick up on Lockhart's strategy. "You know, I have an essay in that class due Wednesday and I can't, for the life of me, understand a bloody word the old ghost's said on the topic. Hey," he said, and Sirius recognized it as the part where the trickster pretended to have just had a sudden idea that, of course, had been formed in their mind from the beginning. "if you really like it so much, perhaps you could help me. I could sneak you into the dorm and we could have a, uh, late night _study_ session." Sirius saw Remus swoon ever-so-slightly at the implications of the suggestion and he knew that Lockhart saw it too because his grin twitched even broader for a fraction of a second. He had won.

"Of course! What's… What's the topic?"

Sirius watched in silence as the conversation continued, Remus playing right into the palm of Lockhart's stupid, beautiful hand, and wondered inwardly if Lockhart was the sort of person to _actually_ put out for someone like Remus _just _for a good grade and some new publicity. He didn't doubt it. At all. The thought of it made him want to act on his previous plan of crotch-biting, but Remus, however dazed and misled, seemed to be having fun as he sipped his tea and stirred it every now and again with the spoon Lockhart had used, laughing at all his counterpart's jokes and essentially letting him lead the conversation, so Sirius stayed put and stayed quiet.

Then it happened.

It dawned on Sirius a split second before it took effect on Remus himself. The silverware dropped with a little tinkling noise and Sirius' fear was confirmed by the angry, red mark appearing on Remus' right hand where he had previously twirled the utensil. Sirius barely had time to register the confused and then panicked look pass over Lockhart's face just as Remus started convulsing before he tore back into the main part of the building, and navigated quickly to the familiar kitchen without a minute to lose. He felt like such an idiot. Remus had the excuse of being under the influence of a potion clouding the instincts that helped him avoid this, but Sirius had just been distracted by his own jealousy. It was all his fault.

Pushing thoughts of guilt to the back of his mind and ignoring Puddifoot's loud noises of surprise, Sirius made a B-line for the desired cabinet, looking for the strongest firewhisky in the dainty little teashop. He knew Puddifoot would have it, if not as a menu item, then as her own, personal vice. Sirius knew it was a bit of a long shot, but he had seen Remus' silver poisoning before and knew that the only way to stall it effectually until they could reach the hospital wing was to get whatever had introduced the poison into his system out as fast as possible. Though Remus' immune system steadfastly refused to expel silver, or, indeed, most things (probably from years of getting used to waking up after full moons with raw, diseased animal meat still working its way through his digestive tract), the one thing Sirius knew Remus to be completely incapable of ingesting without serious problems was strong alcohol.

He recognized a bottle at the far left, a personal favorite, and made off with it as fast as he could. By the time he got back, Remus was in a cold sweat, dry-heaving violently but failing to rid himself of the deadly metal. Lockhart was pressed against the wall in shock, making odd little noises of repulsion and confusion and watching as other clients came in to investigate and stood there, equally perplexed. Pushing roughly past a man who seemed to be trying the spell-equivalent to the Heimlich Maneuver, Sirius shoved the bottle insistently into Remus' trembling hands. The werewolf looked in surprise at his friend, but caught on quickly and, after a few fumbles of his wrecked right hand, pulled out the cork with his left.

The effect of the burning liquid now dribbling in equal parts down his throat and down his carefully planned outfit in combination with the poison from the tea was practically instantaneous. Remus turned away from the disgusted and worried faces with barely a second to spare before he puked all over Puddifoot's precious décor. Sirius vaguely noted the improvement it provided, effectively blocking from sight the dancing cupids that had been embroidered upon the victimized throw pillow, but quickly returned his focus to Remus.

The crowd started clearing out and Lockhart began assuring them that he had it under control (as he had the whole time). One dashing smile later, it even looked as though the fools believed him. Sirius was disgusted again, and felt briefly as though his own puke would soon join Remus' in the redecorating of the furniture.

"So," he said turning back to Remus and apparently failing to notice his continued condition, "um, this doesn't change anything, right? You'll still be writing—I mean helping my write that essay, yeah?" Sirius caught the slip up. One look at Remus told him that, though he was exhausted and still looked close to fainting or puking again, the shock had snapped him out of the little trance and he had caught the very same error. Really, it was a rooky mistake.

"I… no. No, I don't think that would be appropriate. We are both prefects, after all, and I'm not… not in you're class… so… I may not have the proper… proper understanding of the material…" said Remus, with a weak but very present smirk at the end. It had taken him a lot of obvious effort to say, but he had still completely blindsided the Ravenclaw. People rarely said no to the most charming smile in the school.

Just then, as the crowd diminished, Puddifoot herself finally managed to push her way into the room to investigate the trouble firsthand. "Oh dear," she cried repeatedly in her flowery little voice.

"Hospital… wing… now…" breather Remus, no longer acknowledging the presence of his thoroughly stunned date.

"Right," agreed Puddifoot, looking so utterly astonished at the state of her usually calm little café that Sirius thought it a miracle the delicate woman had yet to faint. She hastily grabbed onto Remus' arm with surprising force. Remus had a mere instant to understand the action and grab wildly at Sirius before the trio were squeezed quickly through the tight tube of space and popped back into existence right outside the gates of Hogwarts, which lay open for the Hogsmead Weekend. Sirius felt a pain and a trickle of something wet that meant his wound had been opened again, but he ignored it for the time being. "Got it from here?" Remus nodded weakly, though he didn't look it, and with another 'pop,' the woman had returned to her establishment to do damage control.

"I can't believe… you spied on… my date," said Remus through labored breath, already walking up the path toward the castle, which seemed farther than ever before. Sirius couldn't decipher the tone through the wheezes, but he assumed, as he trotted to catch up, hiding the limp as best he could, that it was angry and not humorous. This hardly mattered an instant later, however, because, as they made their laborious steps toward the ever-distant building, Remus quickly went from staggering under his own weight to leaning on the towering dog for support to lowering his whole body onto the willing dog. Sirius almost whimpered in pain, but knew that that would prompt Remus to try and fail to support his own weight again, so he held it back.

Remus passed out near the greenhouses. to Sirius' great relief, Professor Sprout was on her way to that very spot and happened to cross their path not too much farther along in their slow journey. She made a noise of shock and then wasted no time in liftin the boy into the air with her wand. As an after thought, she applied the same spell to Sirius, and let both of them hover along beside one another a few feet in front of her as she backtracked toward the castle at a hurried pace.

Sirius passed out just as he felt, rather than saw, himself float into the warm, shady interior of the castle. His last conscious thought was that Remus would be fine. Hogwarts would take care of them both.

**A/N: haha… Get it now? The titles a pun! A pun, see? Cause of the silver teaspoon? Yeah, I know. I suck at naming stuff. Shut up. ANYWHO, I certainly hope you enjoyed this little sideplot. I've always wanted to write something with Lockhart, and now I have. Yay for me. ALSO yay for me, TWO UPDATES IN TWO DAYS! WOOHOO! :D Yeah, I know, it's **_**really **_**exciting. So, I hope you LOVED it and I hope you TELL ME just HOW MUCH you LOVED it in the AWESOME REVIEWS I just know you are ALL GOING TO SEND ME! *hint hint***

**XOXOX**


	11. Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum

**A/N so yeah… filler chapter… sorry for the wait. And the disappointing lack of interesting content. Enjoy. **

**Chapter 11: Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum**

Remus was not sent to school the next day on accounts of what was explained to fellow students as an extreme case of food poisoning. Lies were always most believable when they were as close to the truth as possible. Sirius, also having been admitted to the hospital wing, had made a point of curling up on the bed beside Remus as soon as Pomfrey had left the room. He made extra sure to look adorable so that, when she returned, she wouldn't have the heart to make him move. The plan succeeded and, about 10 hours later, Sirius was still curled up beside his crush waiting patiently for the boy to awaken naturally. It quickly became a tedious process once the initial half-hour enjoyment of watching Remus sleep wore off. Finally, he decided it would be beneficial to his own sanity to wake the boy as gently as possible.

Remus' objection to the nose prodding his cheek was instantaneous and came in the form of lazy grumbles and poorly aimed but very insistent swatting motions from the arm that hadn't wrapped around the dog in his sleep. Sirius persisted and, after about a minute of his arm's valiant protestation, Remus cracked open an eye and glared with distaste at the far-too-bright hospital wing.

"Sirius… I'm _tired!_ I don't _want_ to wake up! I… OH SHIT! WHAT TIME IS IT!" exclaimed the prefect, making a sudden effort to rise, forgetting that a dog was on his right arm, and falling, wrapped in crisp, white bed sheets upon the cold, stone floor. His stomach, weak from the night before and jostled by the sudden movement, gave an uncomfortable lurch and the color drained from his already sickly face. Sirius, landing uncomfortably upside down between the bed-side table and the bed, recovered and righted himself before pushing a conveniently placed bucket below his friend's spluttering mouth. Remus, wiping his mouth embarrassedly, recalled that the reason he was so tired is that he had woken up several times that night to have Sirius hastily provide a bucket for his sick. It seemed that the firewhiskey had opened the floodgates of his usually calm stomach.

As Remus stood up shakily and looked around for his shoes, Madame Pomfrey snuck up on him from the other side of the bed and unceremoniously forced him back upon it. "You're to rest up today and be all better for school tomorrow. All your teachers have been informed. Professor Sprout asked me to tell you to thank this mutt, too. Seems he dragged you half dead across campus. I, for one, think he should've run for help. Thanks to his nobility, I had to fix up his stitches _again_." The healer mixed things here and there, forcing remedies down Remus' throat as though it were just another bottle she was pouring it into, all the while rambling about the trouble Sirius caused and how he was just an ungrateful little mutt.

She looked at Remus expectantly, and he realized she had just asked him a question which he had tuned out. "Sorry?" he asked, throat still burning with whatever the last potion he had been force-fed was.

"I asked if you were planning on keeping the stray. You seem to have become fond of him—Merlin knows why," repeated the Pomfrey.

"Oh… I… No. No, I don't think so. I'm fond enough of him, I guess, but I get enough of wild animals every month at the moon. I guess I'm not really a dog person," answered Remus. His first instinct had been to say yes, but he'd then remembered that Sirius would be human again and that he could no longer keep the boy as a pet. He almost felt a twinge of disappointment in spite of himself. In this form, Sirius was all his.

"Well then, you won't be keeping him too much longer, I suppose. Three weeks since the bite should be quite good enough," said Madame Pomfrey before she left his bedside to tend to other patients.

"Nine days…" said Remus out loud, and Sirius' head tilted as he looked over towards Remus. They both had been doing the math. The four had agreed on 25 days, and, counting that Monday, they had nine days left. On the following Sunday, 'Midnight' would be sent back to Remus' uncle, and Sirius would get back on Tuesday after his 'friend's' tragic death on Friday and his burial on Monday. Sirius would be back. Remus smiled at Sirius and, without thinking, planted a small kiss on the top of the dog's head. The instant he did it, he felt his stomach do a weird flip-flop motion, worried once again that he had just scared Sirius away. Sirius' innards experienced a similar phenomenon, but for less terrified and more hopeful reasons. When the dog merely cuddled up closer to Remus, the sick boy was happy to pretend it had never happened.

It was just past noon when Remus saw company other than Madame Pomfrey or midnight. It was then that the absent Marauders barged in to the hospital wing, arms laden with treats they knew didn't come with hospital lunches, waking several disgruntled patients as they did so.

Ignoring the irritated looks coming from the disturbed sleepers, James marched proudly over to Remus' bed, Peter close in tow, and placed the bowl of pudding, upon which a plate of pie was precariously perched, down on Sirius' back. The dog stiffened under the pressure not to drop the treats and relaxed only when Remus quickly removed them from his back and replaced them on his bed-side table.

"Moonshine! How was your date!" You could tell that they were being listened to because all the irritable, still-groggy patients immediately stopped looking at them and busied themselves quietly with something invisible at their bed-sides, not making a noise and curiously angling their ears toward the source of fresh gossip.

Remus, unsettled by the contrast between James' voice and the sudden lack of volume in the room, answered in a hiss, "how do you think?" looking down embarrassedly at his bed-sheets before occupying himself with rather violent bites of chocolate pudding.

"Aw, that's alright. Better luck next time! They clearly just didn't realize what a catch you are!" James gave Remus' cheek a pinch, almost causing him to spit out a portion of his obscenely large bite of pudding. It took Remus a minute or so, in which he continued to look grumpy and put enormous effort into swallowing, but when he recognized James' shifting of pronouns, aware of the listeners, he looked up surprised and thankful.

"Yeah… yeah, I guess. Thanks, mate," he smiled weakly and paced himself a bit more on the remainder of his treats, listening all the while to his companions complaints about their day's classes, grateful not to be questioned further on the happenings of the previous afternoon.

Classes the next day were dull as could be. Remus, still tired from his sickness, hardly even noticed when his eyes went unfocused in History of Magic and his usually-impeccable notes faded into absent minded doodles of stags, rats, and dogs. James smirked to himself when he saw a drawing of a dog with a heart around it, but he managed to pass off the accompanying snicker as a rather gross-sounding cough.

Herbology proved to be the only slightly entertaining class of the day, as Sirius, no doubt bored out of his mind himself, took it upon himself to provide a welcome distraction. Under cover of the invisibility cloak and the entrance of a dozen or more students, Sirius snuck into the greenhouse at the beginning of class and proceeded to rearrange whatever part of the classroom the professor happened to have her back to at any given moment. As such, the students spent class suppressing rather obvious chuckles every now and again and an increasingly befuddled and irritated Professor Sprout spent it repeatedly spinning on the spot, determined to find the source of the laughter, only to just miss the disappearance of another plant and cause the students to laugh still harder. Even Remus had to admit that the harmless, if somewhat distracting joke was a welcome diversion from a day of thoroughly uneventful classes.

"Mr. Lupin!" exclaimed the teacher, and Remus' eyes shifted the tiniest bit away from where he and the rest of the class had been amusedly watching Sirius slowly rearrange the color-coordinated earmuff shelf and he was completely shocked to see the flustered, usually amiable teacher mere inches from his seat. "You are a _prefect! _I _demand_ to know what the cause of this tom-foolery is!"

Remus, knowing that his friends were frozen, waiting to hear his response, put on his best innocent face, looked the graying woman straight in the goggled eyes and said, "Why would I know. It just seems to me that you or another class forgot to tidy up last time they were in here and…" he paused, in believable ponderousness, "perhaps a charms class was practicing giggling charms. Anyone?"

A hufflepuff girl instantly raised her hand, forcing herself to meet eyes with the professor rather than watch what appeared to be disembodied, leopard-print earmuffs doing a victory dance. "It was ours, right Tom?" He nodded. "And, well, you know. When some of us start giggling, all of us will," said the girl in her Welch accent, smiling obliviously at the unconvinced teacher.

"Very well," grumbled the defeated teacher. "I swear," she said, throwing a pointed glance at the three present Marauders, "things like this only ever happen in _this_ class!"

At the end of the class, Sirius snuck out after a few congratulatory pats from his friends. He spent most of next few hours chasing rodents and bothering slytherins. The final class of the day proved almost as boring as the first few, and the three Marauders with the misfortune to be present, took no notes. Thankfully, that evening had more entertainment in store than the day had.

It was frequently wondered, by onlookers unfamiliar with the inner workings of the Marauder family, why Peter was granted a seat in such an exclusive club. Were it merely for being a groupie of James', a dozen more interesting applicants would be willing to take the rodent-like boy's place in an instant. Some—those with slightly more knowledge of the group's history—would assume it could be credited to James and Peter having known each other as boys, but what they often failed to realize was that even back then Peter was a surprising choice to be included in James' inner circle. No, the true reason for the boy's qualification was known perhaps only to the Marauders themselves, and the rat's parents.

What most people did not know about Peter—and what so easily assured him a secure spot in the bespectacled teen's hear—was that the boy had a rather extraordinary penchant for sea shanties. And if there was one thing that went well with James' Great Second Uncle Grisham's self-distilled rum—which James, a favored relative of the crazy old wizard, received by the case once every month of two—it was a good, old fashioned, muggle sea shanty.

That night, Sirius and Remus discovered as they returned from dinner several minutes after their friends, was apparently destined to be one such joyous occasion.

"…_had been gripped by fingers ten; And there they lay, all good dead men," was the lyric that greeted the pair as they entered their dorm to hear Peter belt the shanty, "Like break o' day in boozing ken_…"

James chimed in, "_Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!_"

"_Fifteen men of the whole ship's list!"_ continued Peter, grabbing another mug he had apparently set aside for Remus.

"_Yrhrhrnd_," sung James through a mouthful of the beverage, "_and a bottle of __**rum!**_" he finished with a gulp and a grin, pushing forward a saucer of the alcohol towards Sirius on the ground with his foot.

Remus sighed, taking the rum he was presented with but not drinking it.

"_Dead and be damned and the rest gone whist!"_

"_Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!" _belted James, Sirius barking along and dancing around his feet. "Don't worry Rem," he said as Peter sung alone, "we put the potion in so it won't make you sick!"

"…_And there they lay, and the soggy skies dripped down in up-staring eyes in murk sunset and foul sunrise…"_

_ "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!" _sung all four, as Remus finally lifted the cup and took a sip. "Why does he even know these muggle songs…"

about an hour and a half and a good several pints of rum later, the shanties had yet to falter. They very fact that Peter was still singing was actually astounding, because, sprawled out on the floor with eyes closed as he was, the boy could've easily been mistaken for sleeping or dead were it not for the fact that his lips—the only moving part of his body—were clearly forming the words of the song that filled the room.

"_Now shipmates listen unto me, I'll tell you with my song, of the things that happened to me, when I come home from Hong Kong."_

"How… is he still going?" asked Remus, staring at the ceiling from where he was trapped beneath the passed out dog.

"It's his one honest talent. When he gets his hands on ruuum," explained James, his voice slow and his annunciation compromised, "he becomes possessed by muggle pirates…"

"_Then away you Santy, my dear Annie, oh, you New York girls, can't you dance the polka!"_

"American, muggle pirates," added Remus, his eyes closing.

"Yeah…. S'wicked…"

"Did you know…" started Remus, taking a long pause in which he himself almost forgot the fact, "… that… when pirates didstuff… like… badstuff, the captaincould maroon them… with rum and a cutlass…. All aloooooone…"Sirius, apparently still awake, but showing no signs of movement, howled to punctuate his friend's words.

"Rem…" muttered James as he searched for his glasses, "I don' even know whatuh cutlass is…"

"It's a knife thing!" supplied Peter, his lungs needing a break.

"Yeah… it's a knife thing…"

And as Peter resumed his songs, the three were lulled to sleep where they lay, Remus and Sirius piled at the foot of James' bed, and James over by Peter's trunk with an object sticking uncomfortably into his back which would be revealed to be his missing glasses come morning.

**A/N SOOOOO in case you didn't notice, I had nothing planned for this chapter. It was a rather pathetic chapter. In which NOTHING of interest happened… so yeah….. Sea shanties….. PLEASE REVIEW! XOXOXO**


	12. Lilies, Hyacinths, and Petunias

**A/N I feel so ashamed for how rare my updates are…. Sooooo ashamed. Oh well. Here's a new one. Sort of Lily-centric, for those who like her. **

**Chapter 12: Lilies, Hyacinths, and Petunias **

Sunday, on this particular week, was to be James' rejection of the week. Lily, in an act of harshness uncharacteristic even of her on her worst of days, poured her pumpkin juice over his head as soon as James approached her, without even letting him get a word in. Sirius would not stand for it.

For reasons mostly involving the fact that James had a copy of Lily's schedule posted on their door, Sirius knew her to have a free the final block of the day, and thusly opted to corner her as soon as possible during it. He found her reading by the lake—a very Lily, but even more Remus thing to do. He nudged her to make his presence known, and put on the sternest dog-face possible to make very clear that this visit was neither one of trickery nor friendship. He wanted to know why James tasted like pumpkin when he licked him, and he wanted to know now.

"I suppose you'll be here to speak on behalf of your boyfriend then?" asked Lily, unsurprised at the further meddling of the second most annoying marauder. Sirius glared. "Like it's any of your business," she said, in what would've been called a snap, had it had more conviction or venom.

Sirius longed to demand why she hadn't had the common decency to hear him out—what if he had been trying to ask her a homework question or to pass the bread?—but he knew he couldn't. He had had half a mind to bring along Remus after school for translation's sake, but Remus liked Lily, he'd be too easy on her, and it would require waiting. Sirius, after seeing James' pumpkin covered, dejected face after lunch, was in neither a patient nor forgiving mood. So he continued to glare.

"You know, glaring at me isn't gonna get your point across any better. Why don't you just transform and—argh. Whatever. I know what you're going to say: 'you didn't need to pour juice on him!' 'That was out of line.' 'he's really not so bad.' 'just one date to make him feel better.' You know what? I don't want to hear it. You prats are _always_ around me! Don't you think I ever want to be _alone?_ Why do you think I'm by the bloody lake? Now _bugger off!_"

Lily was upset. Lily was never this upset. Lily was snarky, hurtful, sarcastic and occasionally flustered or irritated by James or Sirius—sometimes Peter, but usually when he was around James—but she never got like this. In retrospect, maybe someone who knew Lily better and could talk would've been a good plan.

It was evening when Sirius got Remus' attention with a whine. Being simultaneously angry and concerned for the girl he considered sort of his friend, Sirius was not yet ready to let that day's happenings go.

"What is it, Sir?" asked Remus, worried at the look in Sirius' face. "Are you sick? What's wrong?" Sirius shook his head and pointed from their room to where he knew Lily's room was on the opposite side of the tower. When Remus looked baffled, Sirius realized that, without context, it would seem he had been gesturing at a wall. He instead got off of Remus' bed and padded over to the door where he gestured insistently at the slip of paper they had dubbed "the Stalking Calendar"—the one with Lily's schedule. Remus looked confused for a minute more, but then asked, "What's up with Lily?"

The pair found the redhead at her favorite table in the library, one which she and Remus sometimes shared, pouring furiously over Divination homework. Remus rested his hand gently upon her shoulder, and she flinched. Looking up, her mood soured, which, while common while in James' company, was rare in Remus'.

"Brought backup?" she asked, looking down to where she knew Sirius would be.

"Sirius said something was wrong."

"Are you two psychic now, then, or something?" she asked, looking back to her homework in an apparent attempt not to care about the interrogation.

"Lils… what's up? I know James is a prat, and you're always the first in line to let him know it, but that wasn't like you today." Remus sat across from her, and Sirius curled up at his feet, listening from below the table.

"What's it to you?"

"Um…Would you rather 'James is my friend and he's still washing juice from his hair' or 'you're my friend, and I want to know what's wrong?'"

"Fine!" shouted Lily, earning an automatic, mechanical sounding 'SHHH!' from The librarian's desk. "Here," she said, in a lower voice, taking a crumpled envelope and shoving it into Remus' hand before pulling her book stubbornly in front of her face.

In the envelope was a card, decorated beautifully with enchanted moving patterns of purple flowers—petunias, Remus thought—growing and glittering from every side. Remus read to himself:

_Dearest Petunia,_

_Happy 18th! I bet Mum and Dad have already started baking you your favorite chocolate cake when you get this. Eat an extra piece for me! Oh, how I miss birthdays at home. How are things there? I haven't heard from you in a while. Sorry I don't write more often. School's really busy. We're learning some cool stuff though. Just the other day, I learned how to cast spells without saying a word! How's school and everything? Are you doing better in English? Mum was really worried about that grade last I heard. Anyway, send my love to our parents! Have a **great** birthday, sis!_

_ Love,_

_ Lily _

_PS The necklace enclosed is from Hogsmede. The pendant's supposed to grant you good luck and health and youth and stuff. And it's your favorite colour! Hope you like it._

Remus stared at the letter for several minutes, struggling to make out each word. On top of Lily's impeccable handwriting was brandished a word in large, scribbled, angry, black letters: FREAK

A moment's more investigation revealed there to be more in the envelope. When Remus tipped it further toward his hand, some pieces of string, a bunch of shiny pink beads and a beautiful, antique pendant with a pink gem in the middle fell onto his palm and some onto the floor.

"Oh, Lily…" he said, sympathy in his voice as he rose and circled the table. He wrapped his arms around her and was surprised to feel tears fall on them. Sirius, unaware of any of the goings on apart from the crying, emerged from beneath the table to lick Lily's hand and nuzzle against her. "Muffliato," whispered Remus at the entrance to their aisle, and Lily broke down, crying into his arms.

When Remus entered their room a half hour later with Sirius behind him, he walked directly toward James. "Prongs?"

"Moony?"

"Do me a favor. Lay off Lily for a while. Or… or better yet, do something _nice_ for her."

"Why, what happ—"

"Just take my word for it. She doesn't need a stalker right now, she needs a friend."

Lily awoke the next morning to find her roommates giggling excitedly by the door. When she came to investigate, a bouquet addressed to her. It was made up of hyacinths and lilies.

_Lily,_

_ Sorry for whatever I did to earn me the pumpkin juice. I'm sure I deserved it. Even if the pumpkin juice was just sour, feel free to use my head as a waste bin for it any time. By the way, even though I can't see you right now and you just got out of bed, I know you look beautiful._

_ -Your not-so-secret admirer_

Lily looked the note over fondly, finding the boy's comments cute in spite of herself, and carried the flowers into her room. It took her a moment, but then it dawned on her: Hyacinths meant "I'm sorry." The sap must've gone through the trouble of looking that up! The very thought made her laugh out loud.

It was Monday when Sirius next relapsed into illness. He vomited once in the morning and was generally woozy and nauseas after waking up, but a quick visit to the hospital wing, for which Remus sacrificed breakfast, and Madame Pomfrey declared him to be a drama queen who was in no actual pain and just needed rest. Rest, of course, meant another day of confinement in the dorm. This lead to something altogether more dangerous than illness: thinking. And far too much of it.

Sirius, being far too tired to go about his usual tom foolery, decided to snuggle up in Remus' bed and, as he was expecting no visitors until lunch, found himself with more time than he knew what to do with. This time was occupied by thinking. More specifically, thinking about the owner of the bed he was resting in.

He had gotten his hopes FAR TOO HIGH, decided Sirius. He had heard Moony was gay and positively _leapt _with joy, instantly deciding this meant he had a real _chance_, without ever considering that gay people could turn each other down, too. Just cause it turned out Sirius was in the half of the population that Remus could plausibly find attractive did not mean his chances had actually increased. Well, argued a logical part of his brain, his chances _had_ increased, but just from 0% likelihood to astronomical unlikelihood (approximately .000000001% chance).

Sirius spent the next hour trying to calculate his exact chances with Remus when he ruled out those with a language barrier, the too young, the too old, and the death eaters. Though he had never been good with math, Sirius decided that the numbers _still_ did not bode well, and proceeded to brood (which was like what he had done up until that point, but with fewer coherent thoughts and more occasional growling noises to himself).

A knock came at the door. "Lunch," announced the quiet yet startling voice of Remus as he opened the door with his elbow. Sirius was so anxious not to seem like he'd been moping that he overcompensated by over-exaggerated enthusiasm, got twisted in the blankets, became dizzy, fell to the floor, and fainted or knocked himself out.

Sirius awoke to find himself being stroked, lying across a comfy lap with an ice pack on his head. Opening his eyes, he saw on Remus' watch that he was already ten minutes late to his next class. Alarmed by this unusual display of tardiness, Sirius nudged pointedly at the wristwatch, in case Remus hadn't noticed.

"I know," said the werewolf in a soft voice. "I needed to make sure you were fine, first. Here," he moved the food he had brought over to near Sirius' face. "Eat something. You didn't have any breakfast." The look in his eyes and the tone of concern in his quiet voice made Sirius feel the intense urge to prove that he was alright so that Remus would stop worrying and not miss class, but as soon as he made an attempt to sit up, perhaps a bit too fast, Sirius felt dizzy and sunk shakily back into his place on Remus' lap.

By the time Remus was satisfied that Sirius would be fine on his won, Sirius had had to eat half the food he had been supplied with, get up all on his own, and show that he could walk fine. The lycanthrope still looked hesitant as he walked through the door, reminding Sirius of something or another involving rest or drinking fluids, but Sirius urged him out and wondered how Moony would explain being 30 minutes late to a class. Sirius had barely gotten Remus out the door convinced that he felt fine when he stumbled hastily into the bathroom and vomited into the toilet. He proceeded to flush and take a nap right there on the cool, tiled floor.

Remus was almost to class when someone stepped out in front of him, blocking his path completely.

"Lupin," drawled Snape, in some sort of greeting.

"Severus," replied Remus as politely as possible before attempting to sidestep the slytherin.

"Lupin," repeated Snape, "I know you lot are up to something. Now, I'm only going to ask this once: Where. Is. Black?" he asked, punctuating each word with a small step forward that would have been intimidating had it not been for Remus' superior posture gaining him at least an inch of height above the boy.

"Why, exactly, is that any of your business?"

"Because _I_, it would seem_,_ am the _only_ person in this school that has noticed that every _single_ thing that occurs around you lot ends. In. Chaos." Upon these words, Snape drew himself up to his full height and matched the boy now standing uncomfortably close to him. Had it been a different marauder in his place, Remus knew that they would've made some comment expressing concern that his long, greasy nose was invading their personal bubble. Remus kept his lips sealed on the issue and instead proceeded to lie with all of his might.

"If you must know, Sirius is visiting a dying friend. Far away." Remus hoped the sweat he felt on his brow was imaginary.

"I shall ask Regulas about this," responded Snape readily.

"Regulas doesn't know. No one in the family does." Remus was truly nervous now, and the best he could do was pray that his exterior looked calm.

"How very…" Snape gave him an appraising, condescending look up and down, "convenient. That's all. Oh, and hurry up. You're late for class." With that, Snape turned on his heel and stalked off to enjoy the rest of his free. As he did so, his cloak billowed behind him in a way that even Remus had to admit was impressive. The boy stood rooted to the spot for several moments before remembering that he was, in fact, late to class, and running to get there. When he ran in out of breath and took a seat by his two friends, the pair smirked like Christmas had come early and they had been bought Zonko's. This being a first (unexcused) offence in six years, he was not given detention. Now his friends just looked shocked.

**A/N Sorry it's a bit shorter than previous chapters. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Got a bit of Lily stuff goin on :) and of course DRAMA with snape! Will he find out their secret! (over dramatic gasp!) WHO KNOWS! Find out next on Padfoot: the WEREDOG! (please review!) xoxoxoxo**


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